Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 4 new deaths reported Sunday along with 113 new cases

The state of Alaska on Sunday reported four deaths linked to COVID-19 and 113 new cases, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

The deaths reported Sunday included three Anchorage residents: a man in his 80s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s. The August death of an Eagle River man in his 70s was also reported in a statement Sunday by the health department. His death was determined to be linked to COVID-19 through a federal death certificate review.

On Friday, Alaska recorded six previously unreported deaths among residents, though only one was recent, according to the state health department. The other five deaths were determined to be associated with COVID-19 by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and occurred in July and August.

A total of 56 Alaskans with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began here in March. Alaska’s death rate remains among the lowest in the country.

Active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents fell from 4,350 on Saturday to 4,252 on Sunday. There were also 621 total active cases among nonresidents.

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

By Sunday, there were 34 people hospitalized who have COVID-19, the health department reported. Another 16 people who were hospitalized were suspected to have COVID-19 and were awaiting results.

Of the 111 new cases of COVID-19 involving residents, 55 were in Anchorage, plus four in Eagle River and one in Chugiak; one was in Seward; one was in Kenai; five were in Wasilla; 23 were in Fairbanks; five were in North Pole; one was in Tok; one was in Utqiagvik; one was in Kotzebue; one was in Juneau; one was in Sitka; one was in Hooper Bay; and one was in Bethel.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, there was one in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; three in the Nome Census Area; one in the Bethel Census Area; one in the Bristol Bay plus lake and peninsula; one in the Aleutians East Borough; one in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; and one in the Dillingham Census Area.

There were two nonresident cases reported Sunday, including an airline pilot in Anchorage and a visitor in an unknown part of the state.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Sunday was 2.43% over a seven-day rolling average.

— Tess Williams