COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 465 new cases and no deaths reported Monday

Alaska reported 465 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths on Monday, while the number of COVID-19 hospital patients in the state hit a new high.

The number of cases in Alaska has increased over the past month, with a single-day record of 604 cases reported on Saturday and more than a month of triple-digit daily counts. All areas of the state are now on alert for the continued spread of the community.

As of Monday, there were 103 people with COVID-19 in hospitals in Alaska, surpassing the previous high of 100 recorded the day before. Nine COVID-19 patients were on ventilators. There were 16 more people in hospitals suspected of having COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 dashboard.

A total of 491 people have been hospitalized with the virus since March.

Eighty-four Alaskans with the virus have died since the start of the pandemic. The overall per capita death rate in Alaska remains among the lowest in the country.

In Anchorage, where the community is spread widely and contact tracing efforts are limited, new restrictions on mask wearing and the size of gatherings went into effect Monday morning.

Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop announced on Sunday that the district would delay its plan to reintegrate students into classrooms due to high levels of the virus in the community.

Over the weekend, Governor Mike Dunleavy urged Alaskans to take the virus seriously and follow the advice of health officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He said he was extending the state’s declaration of emergency disaster after several hospital and public health officials expressed concern over the possibility of the declaration expiring on November 15.

Of the 462 new cases among residents reported Monday, 211 were in Anchorage, seven in Chugiak and nine in Eagle River; two in Kenai; seven to Homer; one in Nikiski; eight in Soldotna; two in pounds sterling; 36 in Fairbanks; nine at the North Pole; three at Big Lake; 13 in Palmer; 42 in Wasilla; one to Willow; five in Utqiagvik; three in Kotzebue; 12 in Juneau; five in Ketchikan; five in Sitka; 14 in Bethel; and 11 in Chevak.

Among communities of less than 1,000 people not named for privacy, there were three new cases in the northern Kenai Peninsula; one in the south of the Kenai Peninsula; four in the Valdez-Cordova census area; one in the Fairbanks North Star borough; four in the southeast Fairbanks census area; three in the Yukon-Koyukuk census region; one in the census area of ​​Nome; one in the North Slope borough; three in the Ketchikan Gateway borough; one in the Prince of Wales-Hyder census region; 28 in the Bethel census area; five in Bristol Bay plus the Lakes and Peninsula region; and one in the Kusilvak census area.

Three new non-resident cases have also been identified: one in Anchorage and two in an unknown region of the state.

Of the new cases, it is not stated how many patients showed symptoms of the virus when they tested positive. While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state’s health department represents only one person.

The state’s testing positivity on Monday was 6.9% on a seven-day moving average. A positivity rate above 5% may indicate high community transmission and not enough testing, health officials said.

Separately, a statement from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. reported that in Bethel, two residents of a long-term care facility tested positive over the weekend, after an employee also tested positive.

And in Soldotna, three residents and a staff member of the Heritage Place skilled nursing facility tested positive for the virus on Sunday, according to a statement from the Central Peninsula Hospital. Testing of all staff and residents will continue every three days until no new positive cases are identified, the statement said.