Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 50 new cases reported Sunday, no new deaths

Alaska reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, including six among nonresidents in the state.

Of the new resident cases, eight involve people in Anchorage. The other 36 were found elsewhere in Alaska: 12 in Fairbanks; three in North Pole; one each in Palmer and Wasilla; two in Kenai; one in Homer; two in the Bethel Census Area; two in the Nome Census Area; one in Nome; two in Utqiaġvik; one in the North Slope Borough, one in Kotzebue; two in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area; two in Ketchikan; and three in Juneau.

Additionally, four nonresidents in Fairbanks tested positive, as did one in Anchorage and one in Bethel, according to state data.

As of Sunday, 38 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 while three hospital patients were awaiting test results, according to the state’s coronavirus data dashboard. Of Alaska’s 153 intensive unit beds, used for the sickest patients, 74 were available on Sunday.

There were no new deaths reported by the state health department on Sunday. A total of 37 Alaskans with COVID-19 have died since March.

Active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents rose from 3,135 on Saturday to 3,150 on Sunday. There were an additional 666 active cases among nonresidents by Sunday.

In total, 860 nonresidents and 5,226 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since March.

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

The low number of cases announced Sunday in Anchorage followed a week of multiple outbreaks in communal living sites across the city: 18 cases among staff and residents at the Anchorage Pioneer Home, 61 cases at the Brother Francis Shelter and 16 cases confirmed at the McLaughlin Youth Center.

On Saturday, University of Alaska Fairbanks officials said that 21 of 37 students in quarantine on and off campus were players on the school’s hockey team. One player on the team tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an off-campus party, and there have been six COVID-19 cases among the players since Aug. 17, officials from the university said.

The state’s testing positivity rate reported Friday was 1.87% over a seven-day rolling average.

— Tess Williams

[Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if you’d like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.]