State reports 59 new COVID-19 cases; Alaska now has nearly 3,000 active cases

Alaska saw 59 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, as active cases reached close to 3,000. The majority of the cases were among Anchorage residents.

Alaska didn’t report any new deaths from the virus. In total, the deaths of 25 Alaskans have been tied to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

New data Wednesday showed 32 people with COVID-19 were in Alaska’s hospitals, while six others had symptoms of the illness and were also hospitalized, according to the state’s health department.

There were 2,967 active cases of COVID-19 in Alaska by Wednesday, including 2,407 cases among residents and 560 cases among nonresidents. A total of 1,191 people have recovered from the illness, state data showed.

Anchorage, which is experiencing widespread transmission of the virus, last week instituted stricter orders meant to stem the spread, including halting dine-in service at restaurants and bars.

[Anchorage will halt indoor service at restaurants and bars, shrink gathering size limits starting Monday]

On Wednesday, the municipality reported 40 total new cases: 36 in Anchorage residents, two in Eagle River residents and two in nonresidents.

Elsewhere in the state, two Wasilla residents and one Willow resident tested positive, as did one resident and one visitor in Juneau.

Two Kotzebue residents tested positive for COVID-19, as did two people from smaller communities in the Northwest Arctic Borough. When cases emerge in communities of less than 1,000 residents, the state does not report the name of the place as a means of protecting privacy.

There were also two cases among residents of Fairbanks and two in people from Sitka, as well as one case each in Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Soldotna, Delta Junction and smaller communities in both the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and the combined Bristol Bay and Lake and Peninsula boroughs.

The state’s coronavirus dashboard now shows average turnaround times for COVID-19 tests in the state over the last two weeks. At the state’s public health labs, it takes an average of 3.1 days to get results, while at facilities like hospitals, it’s taking an average of 4.3 days. Commercial labs take an average of 3.9 days to turn tests.

Alaska reported a test positive rate over the last seven days of 2.75%, and the state has done 257,279 tests so far.

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