This false-color electron microscope image shows the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in yellow. (Photo: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Three more Ketchikan residents have reportedly died of COVID-19. In a statement released Monday, the state Department of Health and Social Services report two men in their 50s and 60s and a woman in her 60s had succumbed to the coronavirus late last year.
According to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, two of the deaths occurred in November and one occurred in December.
The report comes as case numbers in Ketchikan again reach new highs. On Friday, local authorities reported a record two-day total of 85 new infections, not including at-home tests. Another 163 positives were reported on Monday, a record for a weekend count. And officials at Ketchikan’s school district said Monday that 47 students and staff reported being in school while infectious last week.
Cases are also especially high on Prince of Wales Island. Local public health nurses said Monday that 79 cases had been reported in the past week, not including positive at-home tests.
Four people were reported to be hospitalized with the disease at Ketchikan’s 25-bed hospital on Monday.
A total of 18 Ketchikan residents have reportedly died of COVID-19.
