Alaska’s COVID-19 case tally rises to 293, with over 100 recoveries

The number of people who tested positive for the disease caused by the coronavirus in Alaska rose by eight on Wednesday, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 293 as the illness spread to new communities.

Additionally, eight more people who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 have now recovered, according to data from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. Since the state started recording cases last month, 106 Alaskans have recovered from the disease.

Two more people were hospitalized by the illness Tuesday, according to the state’s numbers.

The newly reported cases include three people from Juneau, three from Anchorage, one from Sterling and another from Nome, a case that was announced by the Norton Sound Health Corp. on Tuesday. The Nome case marks the first in the Bering Strait region.

The new cases include four males and four females, Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, said in a media briefing Wednesday evening. Three people are in their 20s, one is in their 30s, one is in their 40s, one is in their 50s and two are in their 60s, Zink said. Across the state, 8,664 total tests have been run in state labs, commercial labs and health care facilities; 3.4% of those have come back positive, Zink said.

Cases of COVID-19 announced by the state of Alaska are listed by a person’s permanent residence, which doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where they’re located when they get sick.

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Kodiak also saw its first case of COVID-19, according to a statement Wednesday from the Kodiak Area Emergency Services Organization. The person who tested positive “is not acutely ill and is staying at home,” local officials said.

Public health officials from Kodiak plan to check in order to make sure the person is self-isolating. They also plan on beginning an investigation into who the person may have been in contact with. The Kodiak case is not yet reflected in data from the state, whose daily case updates cover the previous day’s 24-hour reporting period.

In Interior Alaska, "a small number” of workers from Pogo Mine have tested positive for COVID-19, Wendie MacNaughton, an external affairs manager for Pogo Operations, said by email Wednesday. A worker at the mine had previously tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Those deemed to be close contacts of the workers who tested positive are quarantining, MacNaughton said.

The new Juneau cases announced Wednesday include two state Department of Corrections employees who work at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in the state’s capital, according to the City and Borough of Juneau. A total of six employees at the center have tested positive for COVID-19, local officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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