The COVID-19 outbreak at the Kodiak Coast Guard base has been contained through aggressive contact tracing.
That was the message from commanders at Thursday’s virtual town hall meeting for Coast Guard service members and their families, despite an outbreak of more than a dozen cases, with more expected.
Capt.Edward Hernaez, the base commander, said it has been difficult to give service members and their families accurate and timely updates.
“At this point in time, there’s so much information going around between commands and through our clinics, through our contact tracing group, that we’re not going to get every single detail right all of the time,” Hernaez said. “You are part of this process. You are part of this team. We depend on you to bring this to our attention, so we can resolve them if there are questions and concerns.”
Hernaez and two other commanding officers began the town hall by answering questions that had been submitted in advance. Many of them had to do with restrictions that went in place, after the base raised its risk level from amber to red status.
Some of the questions were about very basic activities like being allowed to get a haircut.
“Yes, you can get haircuts,” Hernaez answered. “You just can’t go to a barber.”
Many asked when recreational and daycare facilities would reopen. Others wanted to know why Coast Guard members and their families have been subjected to restrictions that are much harsher than the community of Kodiak.
“I want you all to please understand that we are in a public health emergency, and our base is the source for that emergency,” Hernaez said
Members were told the outbreak started with about four workers and quickly spread to other units. Last week, hundreds of service members were tested for COVID-19. The virtual gathering was told that about half of those results are back with only one positive test result. There was also a discussion about safety precautions for Coast Guard members who travel off-island on assignment, performing rescues or fisheries enforcement.
So far, the Coast Guard has verified that 13 members and dependents at the Kodiak base have been infected by the virus. Among those: a crew member of the Coast Guard cutter Spar, a health clinic staffer and at least two children.