Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 2 deaths and 381 cases reported Tuesday

Alaska on Tuesday reported 381 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

Tuesday’s tally is the second highest daily increase the state has recorded during the pandemic, after a record 526 cases reported Sunday and a previous high of 355 COVID-19 cases Saturday.

The two deaths involved an Anchorage man in his 80s and a Fairbanks man in his 90s, according to the state health department.

Alaska’s new daily cases have hit triple digits for more than a month, and all but two regions of the state are now in the highest alert category, meaning widespread community transmission, many undetected cases and frequent outbreaks. Health officials have continued to urge Alaskans to wear masks, maintain physical distance and avoid gatherings with people outside their homes.

There were 57 people hospitalized with the virus in Alaska as of Tuesday morning, only a slight drop from a record high of 59 hospitalized at the end of last week. An additional 24 people with suspected cases of the virus were also hospitalized as of Tuesday.

[At least 9 COVID-19 cases identified at Alaska Military Youth Academy]

The state’s per capita death rate remains among the lowest in the country. In total, 70 Alaskans have died with COVID-19, according to data reported by the state Tuesday.

Of the new cases, it wasn’t clear how many patients were showing symptoms of the virus when they tested positive. While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department only represents one person.

Of the 378 new cases reported among residents on Tuesday, 146 were in Anchorage, plus three in Chugiak and nine in Eagle River; 41 in Wasilla; 13 in Palmer; one in Houston; one in Willow; 46 in Fairbanks; nine in North Pole; 13 in Kenai; eight in Soldotna; one in Anchor Point; one in Homer; one in Seward; one in Sterling; one in Nome; 14 in Utqiagvik; four in Kotzebue; one in Douglas; eight in Juneau; three in Bethel; 12 in Chevak; one in Hooper Bay; one in Kodiak; and one in Delta Junction.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 people that are not named to protect privacy, there were six resident cases in the Denali Borough; six in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; six in the Bethel Census Area; three in the Nome Census Area; three in the Dillingham Census Area; three in the Kusilvak Census Area; two in the northern Kenai Peninsula Borough and one in the southern Kenai Peninsula Borough; two in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; two in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; one in the Mat-Su Borough; one in the North Slope Borough; one in the Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon region; and one in the Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula boroughs.

There were also three nonresident cases reported Tuesday: two in Wasilla and one in an unidentified region of the state.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Tuesday was 6.61% over a seven-day rolling average, the highest it has been since the first case was identified in Alaska in March.

— Annie Berman