15 new cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday from 7 Alaska communities

The state health department reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday throughout seven different communities. As of Sunday, there were 272 confirmed cases throughout Alaska.

The department confirmed five new cases in Anchorage, three in Fairbanks, three in Wasilla and one each in Palmer, Girdwood, Juneau and the Ketchikan borough.

No new fatalities or hospitalizations related to COVID-19 were reported, according to the state. In total, eight Alaskans have died from COVID-19 and 66 people had recovered from the novel coronavirus. Thirty-one people have been hospitalized in Alaska because of the virus.

The department reported that there were 251 tests processed by commercial labs Saturday and more than 8,000 people had been tested in total.

Of the new cases, one person is under age 10, two are between 10-19 years old, another two are between 20-29, one person is between 30-39 years old, one person is between ages 40-49, three are between 50-59 years old, four people are between 60-69 years old and one is over 80 years old.

Just over a quarter of the state’s confirmed cases were travel-related and just under half were transmitted locally. Just over a quarter of the cases are still pending investigation.

Chief medical officer Dr. Anne Zink said that Alaskans have significantly slowed the virus from spreading during the last few weeks by following mandates and guidelines. If Alaskans had not acted and simply let the virus spread, there could have been around 11,000 deaths, she said.

“The sacrifices Alaska has made over the past few weeks are monumental and have made a huge difference and will continue to make a difference moving forward,” she said. “But this pandemic isn’t done. It didn’t go away and it’s going to continue to spread around the world.”

[Alaska saw a week of more COVID-19 cases and extensions of statewide restrictions]

Going forward, Zink urged Alaskans to not only continue to follow the guidelines, but to look out for each other.

“All I want is for Alaskans to be healthy and well together, but that’s going to take all of us," she said. "It’s not going to be up to the federal government, it’s not going to be up to the state government, it’s not going to be up to your local county or community — it’s going to be all of us pulling this row together and being able to figure this out together. We truly are stronger together.”