This article originally appeared on KUCB.org and is republished here with permission.
UNALASKA – A Seattle seafood company has apologized to Unalaska residents after crew members of one of its vessels, in the island community harbor, violated isolation protocols to visit a busy local bar last weekend.
The resulting widespread exposure forced the city to move from the ‘medium’ to ‘high’ coronavirus risk level after almost a month and a half at the lower threshold. Dozens of residents who visited the Norwegian Rat Saloon were asked to quarantine and test the virus if they were not vaccinated.
“We are very sorry for the events that have taken place,” said Dave Wood, chief operating officer of US Seafoods. “We regret that these individuals made terrible decisions, endangered many people and harmed many people. We’re as angry as you are. ‘
U.S. Seafoods officials said they were still trying to find out what happened that night shortly after the F / V Seafreeze America arrived in port.
The 240-foot vessel was fishing on yellowfin sole in the Bering Sea last week when some of the 51 crew members on board began to feel COVID-19 symptoms. The company tested them on board and diverted the boat to Dutch Harbor to confirm the results and be closer to medical care, Wood said.
He said the boat was last in Dutch Harbor at the end of March when the company brought a group of new crew members on board. By the time they got on board, they had tested two separate times negative for COVID-19, and they had undergone nearly 20 days of quarantine – although most of the quarantine was the so-called “self-monitor”, with no guards or security personnel have verified compliance.
“This is our protocol for 2021,” Wood said. “And it worked out pretty well for this trip.”
Wood said he thinks it is likely that whoever brought the virus on board picked it up during the trip, given the multiple investigations into the process. But he can not be sure.
The boat reached Unalaska on Saturday, about 20 hours after crew members initially developed symptoms. Eight people on board tested positive at that point. According to Wood, all eight immediately went to Unalaska’s isolation pile house while the rest of the crew was silent.
This is where Wood said the story gets dark.
“We could not complete a thorough investigation,” he said. “We get some conflicting stories from those individuals, so that’s something we keep trying to work through.”
Although the details are not clear, company and city officials say it appears that as many as four of the COVID-positive crew at Unalaska’s seclusion facility decided to go to the bar on Saturday, just before midnight.
“To get an accurate picture of what happened that night on land in Dutch Harbor – it was a challenge for us,” Wood said. “The other crew on the Seafreeze America had to be confined to the vessel, so we did not have eyes and ears (at the facility).”
Unalaska officials said city personnel occasionally send a patrol past the isolation facility when in use. But after the breach last weekend, companies using it will have to offer their own security.
According to local health officials, initial estimates from video footage indicate that as many as 60 people could have been exposed to the Norwegian Rat that night. But some may not have been in close contact long enough to take the risk of catching COVID-19, and others may have been vaccinated.
“Some individuals who have been exposed – we are confident they will be vaccinated, but many are not, so there is definitely a risk,” Melanee Tiura, chief executive of Unalaska’s clinic, said at a city council meeting on Tuesday. “Where they sat and how much distance there was around is useful, but of course you sit in the same space for a few hours – surely the bubble starts to grow around a person.”
As of Tuesday night, the detection of contact from the bar was only about 40% complete, Tiura said. It was still too soon after the exposure to start testing.
The entire Seafreeze America crew was eventually tested or tested at the local clinic; 26 came back positive. Two are believed to be positive, but refuse to test again, according to Wood.
He said the U.S. Seafoods employees who break isolation have effectively fired themselves.
Violation of the public health mandates on the island is also a misdemeanor: the fishermen can be fined $ 500 and even jailed.
“We have a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol and disruptive,” he said. ‘These individuals, whether they are one, two or three or more, have chosen to disregard it and disregard the clear designation of the vessel, the captain, the company and the Dutch port authorities. At one level, therefore, they ended their service when they made the poor choices. ”
While the majority of COVID-positive crew on medical charters flew to Anchorage, the company is still working to find out what’s next for the boat and the crew still on board.
According to Matt Upton, a lawyer who manages the vessel operations for US Seafoods, company officials make almost daily calls with government officials and local officials to make a plan and keep abreast of the health status of the remaining crew.
Upton said they are also continuing the crew of Seafreeze America. To date, only two of the 51 crew members have been fully vaccinated and 14 have their first dose. While the vaccinations on the large boat are low, he said 90% of the crew were vaccinated on one of the company’s other vessels. Upton attributes the difference largely to the greater availability of vaccines when the crew leaves, but Wood also acknowledges that some workers are reluctant to get the shots.
“It is no surprise that the seafood processing workforce initially reserved the vaccine,” he said. ‘We spent a lot of time and energy teaching, answering questions, pointing out good resources and making them understand how important it is. And I think we have made very good progress. ”