If you’ve recently been in a local bar, City and Borough of Juneau recommends a COVID-19 test.
The advisement comes as the city’s emergency operations center reported on Tuesday 19 new COVID-19 cases in Juneau and 25 total since Saturday. The cases are linked to a large social gathering that took place at the end of August, the city said in a news release.
Several people at the gathering are employees of local bars, according to the city. While there has not been identified spread of COVID-19 to bar patrons, contact tracing shows people who tested positive socialized in other bars before being tested.
City and Borough of Juneau and State of Alaska Public Health recommends that anyone who socialized at a Juneau bar between Aug. 24 and Sept. 7 get tested for COVID-19 regardless of whether they have symptoms.
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People are advised to contact their health care providers for a COVID-19 test or call the CBJ COVID-19 Screening Hotline at 586-6000 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to schedule an appointment for a test. Some Juneau bars have voluntarily closed until their staff can be tested and cleared to return to work.
Cumulatively, Juneau has had 212 residents test positive for COVID-19 since March and 98 nonresidents, according to city data. Combined, there are 38 active cases in Juneau and 271 individuals have recovered.
There are currently three people with COVID-19 hospitalized at Bartlett Regional Hospital, according to the city.
Statewide, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported on Tuesday 35 new people with COVID-19 — all are residents. Alaska has had 5,833 cumulative resident cases of COVID-19 and a total of 891 nonresidents.
State data tends to lag at least a day behind the city’s local numbers.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, breathing trouble, sore throat, muscle pain, and loss of taste or smell. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia.
• Contact the Juneau Empire newsroom at (907)308-4895.
