Alaska reports more than 1,700 cases and dozens of backlog deaths

The state of Alaska on Friday reported a new single-day record of 1,735 cases of COVID-19 among residents, as well as 44 deaths in the past year that were newly linked to the coronavirus.

Deaths and the record number of cases are the latest bleak indicators of Alaska’s COVID toll, including the recent surge caused by the Delta variant, which has pushed the state’s daily case rate to the highest in the country.

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The new figures are also likely to increase pressure on Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Tory Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, both of whom have resisted calls to institute measures such as mask warrants and trade restrictions for help control the spread of the virus.

State data shows that about half of the newly reported deaths occurred before August 1, when the current outbreak began to escalate. The other half have since come.

Alaska health officials, at a press conference Friday to announce the numbers, said a cyberattack on the state’s health department caused some of the delayed reporting of the deaths. But they added that others stem from a standard and rigorous review of death records – and warned that more batches of COVID-related deaths are likely to emerge in the future.

Officials also attributed the high number of daily cases in part to a backlog of reports. They said many of the new cases reported on Friday were in fact submitted to the department a few days ago and are only on record now.

“The number of daily reports is very high because it is a mix of current and older cases,” said Health Commissioner Adam Crum.

The backlog of daily reports, officials added, should become less of an issue in the future due to streamlined reporting processes. But they also acknowledged that the still high number of cases reflects the fact that the coronavirus is raging in the state.

“It’s really best to look at weekly trends,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer of Alaska. But, she added, this month’s case count shows that “this is the highest incidence of cases we have ever seen, straining our public health infrastructure. , our businesses and our economy ”.

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Before Friday, the record number of cases for residents was 1,285, set a day earlier.

Earlier this week, the Dunleavy administration announced that it had instituted standards of crisis care at state hospitals – a reflection of the fact that some of them no longer have the staff or the equipment to maintain modern treatment levels.

Public health officials say they are yet to see any indication that this latest wave of coronavirus has peaked, meaning relief for hospitals in the state could still take weeks. Hospitalizations for the virus, statewide, rose by eight on Friday, to 217

The state’s data dashboard showed on Friday that hospitals in Anchorage had eight free intensive care unit beds, out of 69, and just 21 free beds out of 486 in total. The intensive care unit at Mat-Su Hospital was full, with 14 patients occupying 14 beds.

The story has been updated to include three non-resident deaths in the overall tally.