Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 2 deaths and 99 new cases reported Saturday

Two more Alaska residents have died from COVID-19 and 99 new cases have emerged statewide, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 data dashboard.

The newly reported deaths involve an Eagle River man in his 80s and a Fairbanks woman in her 80s who both had underlying health issues, according to state health officials. That brings the number of Alaskans who have died with the virus to 42 since the start of the pandemic, with five of those deaths reported this week.

Health officials have warned that the state could see a surge in cases following Labor Day weekend and urged people to celebrate outdoors rather than indoors, maintain social distancing and wear masks.

As of Saturday, there were 3,518 active cases among residents — including 27 who are out of state currently — and 686 active cases among nonresidents in Alaska, according to state data. Since the virus was first detected here in March, 5,679 Alaskans and 888 nonresidents in the state have tested positive for COVID-19.

Thirty-one people with COVID-19 are currently hospitalized, a drop from 40 on Friday, and another five hospital patients are suspected of having the virus. Since the pandemic began, 237 people with COVID-19 have required hospitalization.

Of Alaska’s 153 intensive care unit beds, 78 were in use statewide Saturday, according to the data dashboard.

Of the 96 new resident cases reported Saturday, 54 are in Anchorage, plus one in Chugiak and two in Eagle River.

The Municipality of Anchorage has been contending with a large outbreak at the Brother Francis Shelter involving at least 89 people, one of whom died last week. An outbreak at the McLaughlin Youth Center has now grown to involve at least 24 youths and staff. It was not immediately clear from the data whether any of the Anchorage-area resident cases reported Saturday are related to either outbreak.

Of the remaining new resident cases reported by the state Saturday, four are in Wasilla, two in Palmer, two in Big Lake and one in Houston; 16 are in Fairbanks, plus three in North Pole; one is in Kenai; three are in Juneau; five are in Utqiagvik; and two cases are in communities smaller than 1,000 people that are not identified to protect resident confidentiality, including one in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and one in the Northwest Arctic Borough.

The state also reported three new cases among nonresidents in Anchorage.

It was not reported how many patients of the new cases were showing symptoms of the virus when they tested positive.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Saturday was 1.85% over a seven-day rolling average.

— Emily Goodykoontz

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