Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 79 new cases statewide, no new deaths

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Wednesday reported 79 new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska, including three cases in nonresidents, and no new deaths.

There have been 5,247 known coronavirus infections in Alaska in residents and nonresidents since the pandemic arrived in March, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Since March, 184 Alaska residents and four nonresidents have been hospitalized with COVID-19.

In total, 29 Alaskans have died with the virus. The state’s death rate — 4 per 100,000 — is the second lowest in the nation after Hawaii’s, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Forty-five people were hospitalized with COVID-19 around the state as of Wednesday, a new high. Eleven more hospitalized patients were being tested for the coronavirus.

Of the new cases reported, it wasn’t clear how many were showing symptoms of the virus when they tested positive.

Thirty-seven of the 76 new resident cases involved Anchorage residents.

Thirty-nine other resident cases were reported around the state: 14 in Fairbanks, seven in Wasilla, two in Kenai, two in Utqiagvik, one in Kodiak, one in North Pole, one in Willow, one in Dillingham, one in Nome, one in Kotzebue and one in Ketchikan. Among smaller communities, there was one resident case in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, one in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, one in the Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula area, two in the Northwest Arctic Borough and two in the Bethel Census Area.

There were also two nonresident cases in Tok and one in Juneau.

As of Wednesday, 3,093 people were known to have been infected with coronavirus in Alaska. Another 1,316 residents and nonresidents were presumed recovered and out of isolation.

The state’s testing positivity rate reported Wednesday was 1.94% over a seven-day rolling average.

— Annie Berman