Employee at Alaska Psychiatric Institute tests positive for coronavirus

An employee at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage has tested positive for the coronavirus, state health authorities announced Thursday.

The case is the first publicly linked to Alaska’s sole inpatient psychiatric hospital.

“The employee was tested after becoming ill on Wednesday, July 8 and has not been at the facility since that time,” the Department of Health and Social Services said in a statement. “No other staff or patients have shown symptoms of the disease.”

Hospital officials learned of the positive result Wednesday afternoon. The employee “took excellent precautions to minimize the risk of exposure” while at work, the statement said.

The statement did not say what the employee’s job was, or how much contact with the person had with patients.

The hospital has been taking COVID-19 prevention measures since March, including screening people entering the facility and requiring staff to wear masks.

A contact tracing investigation is underway. Meanwhile, “new patient admissions will be on hold for at least the next 72 hours,” the statement said.

Thought it wasn’t clear how many patients are currently at API because a public bed tracking site had been taken offline, spokesman Clint Bennett said in May that the hospital had about 30 residents at the time.

The state’s contract with controversial private company Wellpath expired June 30.

[Related: Alaska COVID-19 surge continues, with 75 new cases and no new hospitalizations]

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