Where I Am and Why They're Terrified.
COVID-19 scares the hell out of a lot of people.
Here in King Salmon, they have good reason to be scared. The only town they're connected to, Naknek, is home to several very large seafood processing plants. Each one of these plants employs a lot of seasonal workers from outside the state and often outside the country in maximum-density dorms. So, these places have a huge potential for an outbreak. To mitigate this, the companies have closed off their campuses and there are various levels of quarantine happening. They're doing their best to have a successful season during a pandemic when the demand for their product has been reduced to next to nothing. Best of luck with that.
Then we get news reports like this. 86 cases on one boat which was headed to Alaska to fish. How much of the rest of the fleet is infected but not detected yet? How long before it makes it into the processing plants. How long before it leaks into the community at large?
Did I mention these communities have no hospital?
If you're infected, take a turn for the worse, and can't get a medevac in time, it's a death sentence. There isn't much of a medical support system to overwhelm. Food out here isn't cheap, so what they do eat isn't always the most nutritious. I don't see a lot of housewives out jogging. In other words, I figure comorbidity is just a foregone conclusion.
It's only a matter of time until it hits (if it isn't already here). All they can do is try to delay it and minimize the impact as best they can. This has the potential to be devastating in bush communities.
Fishing is THE industry here. If it goes down, the whole shooting match goes down. It's already expensive to live here, so imagine trying to do it with no income. The average guy couldn't afford it. When the average guy moves away, prices go up, and the richer guy questions why they stay. Eventually all you have left are those that don't have a choice, and things circle the drain even faster.
I'm hoping for the best for the people here. Mostly I'm hoping I make it out of here unscathed. Avoid people and hold my breath for a week.
Shouldn't be too hard.
Here in King Salmon, they have good reason to be scared. The only town they're connected to, Naknek, is home to several very large seafood processing plants. Each one of these plants employs a lot of seasonal workers from outside the state and often outside the country in maximum-density dorms. So, these places have a huge potential for an outbreak. To mitigate this, the companies have closed off their campuses and there are various levels of quarantine happening. They're doing their best to have a successful season during a pandemic when the demand for their product has been reduced to next to nothing. Best of luck with that.
Then we get news reports like this. 86 cases on one boat which was headed to Alaska to fish. How much of the rest of the fleet is infected but not detected yet? How long before it makes it into the processing plants. How long before it leaks into the community at large?
Did I mention these communities have no hospital?
If you're infected, take a turn for the worse, and can't get a medevac in time, it's a death sentence. There isn't much of a medical support system to overwhelm. Food out here isn't cheap, so what they do eat isn't always the most nutritious. I don't see a lot of housewives out jogging. In other words, I figure comorbidity is just a foregone conclusion.
It's only a matter of time until it hits (if it isn't already here). All they can do is try to delay it and minimize the impact as best they can. This has the potential to be devastating in bush communities.
Fishing is THE industry here. If it goes down, the whole shooting match goes down. It's already expensive to live here, so imagine trying to do it with no income. The average guy couldn't afford it. When the average guy moves away, prices go up, and the richer guy questions why they stay. Eventually all you have left are those that don't have a choice, and things circle the drain even faster.
I'm hoping for the best for the people here. Mostly I'm hoping I make it out of here unscathed. Avoid people and hold my breath for a week.
Shouldn't be too hard.
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