Coronavirus: American Fishing Trawler Confirms 85 Positive Cases Onboard
85 out of the 119 crew members aboard the fishing vessel ‘The American Triumph’ have been tested COVID-19 positive after two weeks at sea. The ship departed Oregon on the 27th of June, 2020 for a fishing expedition for pollock. Having landed at the Dutch harbor on Thursday, 7 crew members reported having had symptoms similar to that of coronavirus infection, of which 6 were tested positive.
The crew members were docked inside their vessel and/or in isolation locations until it traveled to Seward along with medical personnel at the Unalaska fishing port with 85 infected members. They are now receiving further screening from clinic staff. The remaining members are being flown to quarantine and monitoring facilities at Anchorage, Erin Reinders, City Manager.
American Triumph, a billion-dollar fishery has claimed that the crew members were screened for the virus, prior to having embarked the boat for the expedition, with all negative results.
The seafood company had raised concerns last month when it announced the infection of more than 100 crew members on 3 of its 6 vessels in Washington. The company has said that it put stricter protocols into action that includes an extension of quartine period by two weeks, 2 PCR tests, and a series of screening.
Melanee Tiura, the chief executive of Unalaska’s clinic said that though the facility is small, the clinic has had its team on deck, testing 119 members on the boat, being the only health care facility on the island. The personnel are still considering if the ill members are in the state to sail.
CEO Mikel Durham has said that they are moving expeditiously to relocate the crew and provide the required care. An additional paramedic has been brought in to assist the crew members while it sails to Anchorage. He also thanked the Illiuliuk Family and Health Services, the City of Unalaska Unified Command, and the public health and critical infrastructure professionals in Alaska for their support.
Reference: mycentraloregon.com
