COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 1 death and record 933 new cases reported on Saturday

The daily number of COVID-19 cases in Alaska rose to a record 933 new cases reported on Saturday as officials announced the death of another Alaskan infected with the coronavirus.

Saturday’s daily case tally is by far the most reported in a single day so far during the pandemic, according to data from the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services. This is the second time this week that a daily record for new cases has been set, after 760 cases were recorded on Thursday (closely followed by Friday’s near-record total of 756 cases).

The consistently high daily caseload translates into more deaths and hospitalizations that strain the healthcare system, according to Alaskan health officials.

The death reported on Saturday involved an Anchorage woman in her 70s, according to the state’s health department, and follows the 12 deaths reported on Friday. A total of 142 Alaskan residents and one non-resident have died with the virus since it was first detected here in March. Although the state’s overall per capita death rate remains one of the lowest in the country, state officials say it’s difficult to compare Alaska to other states because of its geography unique and its vulnerable health system.

Public health officials say daily reports underestimate the true number of virus cases due to a backlog in public health data. In addition, health experts across the country have braced for an increase in cases following gatherings and trips over the Thanksgiving holiday.

In Alaska, health officials continue to report shrinking hospital capacity and understaffing is a major concern statewide.

On Saturday, the capacity of intensive care units in Alaska was in the red zone, over 75% full. There were 150 people hospitalized for COVID-19, as well as 14 people suspected of infections. Thirty adult intensive care unit beds were available out of 128 and 16.1% of adult hospitalizations in Alaska were linked to COVID.

State data showed only five adult intensive care beds are available in Anchorage hospitals on Friday, where the state’s sickest patients tend to end up.

Of the 908 new cases reported by the state among Alaskan residents on Saturday, there were 298 in Anchorage, plus 22 in Eagle River, six in Chugiak and one in Girdwood; 177 in Wasilla, 35 in Palmer and 5 in Big Lake; 89 in Fairbanks, 34 in the North Pole and one in Ester; 36 in Kenai, 33 in Soldotna, five in Sterling, four in Homer, four in Nikiski and two in Seward; 19 to Kodiak; 12 in Bethel; 11 at Delta Junction; five in Utqiagvik; five in Sitka; four in Juneau; four in Ketchikan; two to Craig and one to Metlakatla; two in Dillingham; one in Cordoba and one in Valdez; one to Healy; one in Kotzebue; and one in Chevak.

Among communities of less than 1,000 people not named for privacy, there were 39 cases of residents in the Bethel census area; 24 in the Kusilvak census area; 12 in the Fairbanks North Star borough; five in the Valdez-Cordova census area; one in the north of the Kenai Peninsula; one in the southeast Fairbanks census area; one in the Yukon-Koyukuk census region; one in the Matanuska-Susitna district; one in Bristol Bay plus the boroughs of Lake and Peninsula; and one in the Dillingham census area.

Twenty-five cases have been reported in non-residents: seven in Fairbanks, three in Anchorage, two in small communities in North Slope Borough, one in Kenai, one in Utqiagvik, one in Unalaska, and 10 in unidentified areas of the state.

All regions of Alaska as of Saturday were on high alert, reflecting the 14-day average daily rate of cases per 100,000. The Yukon Delta-Kuskokwim region has the highest average rate, at 174.29 cases per 100,000, followed by Mat-Su with 142.94 cases per 100,000.

State health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to avoid indoor gatherings with limbs not belonging to the home, and report that most Alaskans who contract get the virus from a friend, family member or coworker.

Travel is also currently considered a high risk activity.

The Centers for Disease Control announced this week that they are revising their quarantine guidelines to allow people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 to shorten their quarantine period from two weeks to just seven days with a COVID-19 test negative.

More than a million tests have been carried out in Alaska since March. While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state’s health department represents only one person.

Among the new cases, the state does not report how many people show symptoms when they test positive. The CDC estimates that about a third of people with the virus are asymptomatic.

On Saturday, the state had an average positivity rate of 7.24% over the past seven days. Health officials warn that a positivity rate above 5% can mean that there aren’t enough general tests done in a community.