M/V Tustumena June 8, 2020 Situation Briefing by State & Local Officials

At 3:00 pm on June 8, 2020, the City of Homer EOC in partnership with the State of Alaska held a media briefing on plans for the arrival of the M/V Tustumena, which arrived in Homer from Dutch Harbor with one confirmed case of COVID-19 within its crew.

South Peninsula Hospital is graciously hosted the ZOOM briefing which  had an audience of 78 and fielded questions from 12 reporters.  Presenters included Meadow Bailey, Communications Director for the Alaska Department of Transportation, Captain John Falvey, General Manager of the Alaska Marine Highway System, Kate Helfrich and Joe McGlaughlin from the Section of Epidemiology and Alaska's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink. 

A recording of the Press Briefing is embedded below; a transcript of the briefing is included as an attachment below too.

When the M/V Tustumena docked in Homer's Port & Harbor, passengers and crew stayed aboard and were tested for COVID-19 by staff from South Peninsula Hospital.  DOT&PF officials arranged with testing staff from South Peninsula Hospital to immediately test passengers and crew for COVID-19.  South Peninsula Hospital's lab ran the results overnight while individuals remained in isolation until the test results returned.  Six additional crew member tested positive for COVID-19.  According to a June 9, 2020 Press Release from the DOT&PF, all crew who tested positive remain on the boat in isolation.  The passengers and some crew who tested negative have left the vessel and have returned home to self-monitor and quarantine for 14-days.  Public Health Nurses are working with individuals on safe quarantine plans and conducting contact tracing. 

Some crew members who tested negative are remaining aboard to help support vessel operations.  The press release states that the positive and negative crew members will remain separated on board.  

*6/10/2020 Update:  The seven Alaska Marine Highway crew members who tested positive for COVID-19 have been directed to isolate and are coordinating with DHSS. Of the seven, three positive crew members remain in isolation on board the Tustumena, four positive crew members left to isolate at other locations using private transportation. The four who left the Tustumena received instruction from DHSS on how to isolate to ensure the safety of others.

The State of Alaska Department of Transportation announced that at this time, sailings for the Tustumena are anticipated to resume Saturday, June 27. This will give time for the vessel to be thoroughly sanitized and staffed with crew.

All AMHS passengers who are impacted by the canceled sailings are being notified. If you have questions about reservations, please visit www.FerryAlaska.com or contact the AMHS reservation call center by dialing 1-907-465-3941 or toll-free at 1-800-642-0066.

Press releases about the incident and ferry operations are included as attachments below.