Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 77 new cases reported Monday, no new deaths

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The state on Monday reported 77 new cases of COVID-19, all but two in Alaskans, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

No new deaths were reported. Forty-four Alaskans have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began here in March. The state’s per capita death rate is among the lowest in the country.

The current statewide alert level, based on the average daily case rate for the past 14 days, is high, according to health officials.

Statewide as of Monday, 34 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 and three more hospitalized patients were awaiting test results, according to state data. Of Alaska’s 153 intensive care unit beds, 73 were in use statewide.

Active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents rose from 4,066 on Sunday to 4,141 on Monday. Another 708 active cases were reported among nonresidents.

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

Of the 62 new cases of COVID-19 involving residents, 47 were in Anchorage; 10 were in Fairbanks and two were in North Pole; seven were in Wasilla; two were in Utqiagvik; five were in Juneau; and one was from an unknown location.

The number of COVID-19 cases associated with Anchorage homeless shelters now stands at 194, according to emergency operations officials. That’s up from a total of 168 cases as of last Thursday. Eight people staying at Anchorage sheltered have been hospitalized with COVID-10. Three people have been discharged, four remain hospitalized, and one person, as previously reported, has died, said Audrey Gray, spokeswoman for the Emergency Operations Center. At least 100 of the cases are connected with the Brother Francis Shelter, city epidemiologist Dr. Janet Johnston said on Friday.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, there was one in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Monday was 2.04% over a seven-day rolling average.

-- Zaz Hollander and Paula Dobbyn

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