KUCB - Unalaska

The airline plans to hire experienced Ravn and PenAir pilots and use aircraft that can fly direct from Anchorage.

Freight shipments could be delayed until both of the town’s docks are inspected.

More than two-thirds of the crew of a huge factory fishing vessel docked in the Aleutian fishing port of Dutch Harbor has tested positive for COVID-19, local authorities announced Sunday.

“Right now, the levels are high enough that just one mussel could kill someone,” said Sarah Spelsberg, a physician assistant at Iliuliuk Family and Health Services, Unalaska’s clinic.

This is the first known paralytic shellfish poisoning fatality in Alaska since 2010, although serious illnesses are reported more frequently.

The arrival of the 255-foot boat had generated concern among Alaskans after more than 100 asymptomatic crew members aboard three of the company’s other factory trawlers tested positive for the virus in recent weeks.

The positive test result of a crew member came just hours after the vessel arrived in Unalaska.

It was the first trip back in service for the ferry, it stopped at 8 communities between Homer and Unalaska.

The two men are asymptomatic and were moved to isolation in Unalaska testing positive for the virus.

The factory trawler was most recently in Bellingham, WA, and has returned to the Port of Seattle where it is currently under lockdown.