Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 465 new cases and no deaths reported Monday

Alaska reported 465 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and no new deaths, while the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the state hit a new high.

Case counts across Alaska have been surging over the past month, with a record single-day high of 604 cases reported Saturday and more than a month of triple-digit daily counts. All areas of the state are now in high alert for continued community spread.

By Monday, there were 103 people with COVID-19 in Alaska hospitals, surpassing the previous high of 100 recorded the day before. Nine COVID-19 patients were on ventilators. There were 16 additional people in hospitals suspected of having COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

In total, 491 people have been hospitalized with the virus since March.

Eighty-four Alaskans with the virus have died since the start of the pandemic. Alaska’s overall death rate per capita remains among the lowest in the country.

In Anchorage, where widespread community spread is occurring and contact tracing efforts are stretched thin, new restrictions on mask wearing and the size of gatherings went into effect on Monday morning.

Anchorage School District superintendent Deena Bishop announced Sunday that the district would delay its plan to phase students back into classrooms due to continued high levels of virus in the community.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy over the weekend urged Alaskans to take the virus seriously and follow guidance from health officials to stop COVID-19 from spreading. He announced that he was extending the state’s emergency disaster declaration after several hospital and public health officials voiced concern over the possibility of the declaration expiring Nov. 15.

[Anchorage updated its COVID-19 emergency orders. Here’s what changed.]

Of the 462 new cases in residents reported Monday, 211 were in Anchorage, plus seven in Chugiak and nine in Eagle River; two in Kenai; seven in Homer; one in Nikiski; eight in Soldotna; two in Sterling; 36 in Fairbanks; nine in North Pole; three in Big Lake; 13 in Palmer; 42 in Wasilla; one in Willow; five in Utqiagvik; three in Kotzebue; 12 in Juneau; five in Ketchikan; five in Sitka; 14 in Bethel; and 11 in Chevak.

Among communities with populations smaller than 1,000 not named to protect privacy, there were three new cases in the northern Kenai Peninsula Borough; one in the southern Kenai Peninsula Borough; four in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; one in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; four in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area; three in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; one in the Nome Census Area; one in the North Slope Borough; three in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough; one in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area; 28 in the Bethel Census Area; five in Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula Area; and one in the Kusilvak Census Area.

There were also three new nonresident cases identified: one in Anchorage and two in an unknown region of the state.

Of the new cases, it is not reported 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.

The state’s testing positivity as of Monday was 6.9% over a seven-day rolling average. A positivity rate over 5% can indicate high community transmission and not enough testing, health officials have said.

Separately, a statement from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. reported that in Bethel, two residents of a long-term care facility tested positive over the weekend, after an employee also tested positive.

And in Soldotna, three residents and one staff member of Heritage Place Skilled Nursing facility tested positive for the virus on Sunday, according to a statement released by the Central Peninsula Hospital. Testing of all staff and residents will continue every three days until no new positive cases are identified, the statement said.

— Annie Berman