Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 71 new cases reported Monday

The state on Monday reported 71 new cases of COVID-19, all but one in residents, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

The state announced no new deaths Monday. Forty-five Alaskans have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic began here in March. The state’s death rate is among the lowest in the country.

Another 12 new cases were confirmed as of Sunday in an ongoing outbreak associated with Anchorage homeless shelters, municipal officials said Monday. A total of 228 cases have been identified at shelters -- 42 in a 10-day period ending Sunday. Five people are currently hospitalized. One has died.

Statewide as of Monday, 44 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 while three other hospital patients were awaiting test results, according to state data. Of Alaska’s 153 intensive care unit beds, 83 were in use statewide.

Active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents rose from 4,565 on Sunday to 4,634 on Monday. There were 720 active cases reported among nonresidents.

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

Of the 70 new cases of COVID-19 involving residents, 33 were in Anchorage, one in Chugiak and one in Eagle River; one was in Homer; 14 were in Fairbanks and five in North Pole; four in Utqiagvik; five in Juneau; and one in Dillingham.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, there was one in North Slope Borough, two in Northwest Arctic Borough, one in Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon, and one in Kusilvak Census Area.

One new nonresident case was reported in Fairbanks North Star Borough on Monday.

The state’s testing positivity rate as of Monday was 2.28% over a seven-day rolling average.

-- Zaz Hollander