Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: One death and 129 infections reported Thursday

Alaska on Thursday reported 129 new cases of COVID-19, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

One new death was reported Thursday. The person who died was a woman from Anchorage in her 70s. The state also reported a death Wednesday, involving an Anchorage man in his 70s.

In total, 60 Alaskans have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began here in March.

Alaska’s death rate per capita remains the lowest in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thursday marked the 15th day that Alaska has seen new daily case counts exceeding 100, the longest such streak since the pandemic began.

Separately from the state reports, local officials in Juneau reported six new cases Thursday, including two involving inmates at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.

The inmates tested positive when they were being booked, according to Alaska Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sarah Gallagher. The two inmates are in isolation. Two other inmates also tested positive while they were being remanded, but were released, Gallagher said.

Corrections officials have conducted more than 6,100 tests with almost 300 still pending, according to the department’s website. Seventy-nine inmates total have tested positive upon remand; three inmates in the general population have tested positive.

Statewide as of Thursday, 32 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized while another 14 patients were awaiting test results.

Of the 123 new resident cases of COVID-19 reported by the state Thursday, there were 52 in Anchorage, plus six in Eagle River; three in Kenai, one in Seward and one in Sterling; two in Kodiak; one in Cordova and one in Valdez; 15 in Fairbanks and six in North Pole; five in Palmer and three in Wasilla; one in Nome; three in Utqiagvik; one in Juneau; and one in Ketchikan.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, there were two new cases on the northern Kenai Peninsula; one in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; one in the Nome Census Area; two in the Northwest Arctic Borough; one in the North Slope Borough; and 12 in the Bethel Census Area.

Among six nonresident cases reported Thursday, there were three in Mat-Su, one in Anchorage and two classified as unknown.

It wasn’t clear how many of the people involved in the new cases were showing symptoms of the virus when they tested positive.

In total, 9,996 residents and nonresidents in Alaska have tested positive for the virus since March.

The state’s test positivity rate as of Thursday was 4.53% over a seven-day rolling average, the highest it has been. The rate reflects the number of positive results divided by total tests performed. Health officials say levels over 5% may indicate communities aren’t doing enough testing.

— Zaz Hollander