Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: One new death and 136 cases reported Thursday

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Alaska on Thursday reported 136 new coronavirus infections, according to the Department of Health and Social Services' COVID-19 dashboard.

One new death was reported, an Anchorage man in his 60s who died recently, said DHSS spokesperson Elizabeth Manning in an email.

In total, 57 Alaskans have died with the virus since the pandemic began here in March. Alaska’s death rate remains one of the lowest in the nation.

The number of active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents was 3,581 on Thursday, a drop from 3,711 the previous day.

There were also 436 total active cases among nonresidents as of Thursday.

As of Thursday afternoon, 28 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, the state health department reported. Another 14 people who were hospitalized were suspected to have COVID-19 and were awaiting test results.

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

I know we are all fatigued, but cases and % positivity continue to climb, and we have tools to make a difference.

--> Avoid the 3 C's: Congregate settings, close contacts and confined spaces.
--> Do the 3 W's: Wear a mask, watch your space and wash your hands 1/
— Anne Zink (@annezinkmd) October 2, 2020

Of the 127 new cases of COVID-19 involving residents, there were 61 in Anchorage; 26 in Fairbanks; eight in Wasilla; four in Utqiagvik; four in Kotzebue; three in Eagle River; two in Kodiak; two in Palmer; two in Valdez; two in Healy; and one in Juneau.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, the state reported one case in the northern Kenai Peninsula Borough, one in the Bethel Census Area; four in the Northwest Arctic Borough; and six in the Nome Census Area.

There were nine new nonresident cases, including one in Anchorage and eight in a smaller community in the Northwest Arctic Borough.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Thursday was 3.32% over a seven-day rolling average, the highest since April. The rate can include multiple tests on the same person.

Positivity rate is considered an important indicator of whether a community or state is doing enough testing to find coronavirus infections and stop the spread of the virus. The World Health Organization has said countries with broad testing should have a positivity rate that stays below 5% for 14 days.

— Annie Berman

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