Four patients at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute have tested positive for COVID-19.
In response, the state-run psychiatric hospital will not take any new patients for the next two weeks.
According to a Friday media release, the patients will be isolated from other patients and will be treated by fewer staff, to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus.
Staff will also be wearing N95 masks, eye protection, gloves and gowns, according to the release.
Eight people connected with the psychiatric facility, 3 staff and 5 patients, have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the release, staff at the facility have attempted to keep the virus at bay by enforcing social distancing, screening employees and contractors for symptoms and requiring that all new patients have a negative test result before they’re admitted.
The state is seeing a surge of new coronavirus cases. On Friday, state health officials reported 242 new coronavirus infections, the second highest number of cases recorded in Alaska in one day since the pandemic began. The state has also reported triple-digit increases in new cases each day for the last month.
