Alaska ferry to remain in Bellingham as crew continues to get tested for COVID-19
UPDATE: It was announced on Monday evening, Aug. 17 that the Matanuska crew members tested negative for COVID-19, and the next scheduled departure from Bellingham will still be 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21.
The Alaska ferry Matanuska will be sticking around Bellingham as the crew continues to be tested for COVID-19.
The ferry arrived at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal on Friday, Aug. 14 having learned that passengers on a previous trip had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the crew would need to be tested before the ferry could return to Alaska.
In an updated news release, the Alaska Marine Highway System said the next sailing wouldn’t happen until Friday, Aug. 21 at the earliest. The crew must be tested and are required to receive negative results before the ship resumes service.
In the original news release it was reported one passenger had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. In the updated news release the number of passengers that tested positive had grown to five.
According to the updated news release release, the passengers boarded the Matanuska on Monday, Aug. 10, in Kake, Alaska, arriving in Juneau at 11 p.m. local time. The Matanuska continued on its trip, heading south to Bellingham and arriving on Friday, Aug. 14. The passengers alerted the marine highway system Aug. 13-14 that they had tested positive for the respiratory disease.
While still under investigation, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services has not identified any close contacts among other passengers or crew beyond the group of five passengers, but they are notifying the public out of an abundance of caution.
All passengers are being notified and rebooked or refunded as necessary.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 10:43 AM.
