Twenty seafood workers infected with coronavirus after COVID-19 outbreakn the trailer of the seafood factory Araho in the Aleut Islands of Alaska, according to city officials.
According to a news release from the city of Unalaska, the trailer, owned by the O’Hara corporation, has a crew of 40 workers.
Crew members of Araho arrived from Seattle in Unalaska on Wednesday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. Some of the crew members said on arrival that they were experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, According to the newspaper, Erin Reinders, city manager of Unalaska, said.
After the test, it was found that half of the crew had the virus. Reinders said a plan is being developed to care for the crew members with the virus and those without the virus.
The news comes because seafood processors and vessels in the Aleut Islands have recently seen an increase in coronavirus cases. According to Daily News, five cases of the virus were reported on the Island Enterprise vessel, which is owned by Trident Seafoods, on Thursday.
Another Trident plant in Akutan was shut down due to an outbreak. The plant is North America’s largest seafood processing plant, and 266 out of 705 workers contracted the coronavirus at the plant.
Reinders said there are 57 cases of coronavirus in the industry in the city of Unalaska.
Alaska has reported more than 53,000 coronavirus infections since the onset of the pandemic and 253 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times.