Alaska officials continue planning for the future as COVID-19 cases slowly tick upward

Alaska officials expressed confidence in the state’s health care and testing capacity Thursday, broadly describing what’s in store for the state during the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of cases among Alaskans rose by seven for a total of 300.

“We’re going to be charting our own course that works for Alaska and keeps Alaska healthy,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy told reporters Thursday.

The state is on a path toward reopening certain sectors of the economy, but Dunleavy said much of those decisions depend on information about testing and case counts statewide.

“We’re feeling pretty good about where things are,” Dunleavy said, citing increasing hospital and testing capacity in the state.

Those increases in testing capabilities, said the state’s chief medical officer Dr. Anne Zink, have been “significant.”

As more communities, hospitals and clinics can do their own COVID-19 testing independently, the state begins to function more as a backup, Zink said.

Even initial steps toward a reopening will be slow, Zink said, including the state’s recent decision to begin allowing more non-essential medical procedures. Zink said the new mandate “was a framework to provide a way forward for providers and patients to get access to additional care that has been delayed previously.”

Zink said she received several questions about the new mandate and stressed that doctors and patients should work together in order to prioritize certain procedures based on need and availability of personal protective equipment.

“This isn't something that I think is going to happen overnight,” Zink said. “It's going to be a work in progress.”

In order to begin a move toward easing restrictions, Zink said the state needs to show that the hospital capacity is not exceeded, which it currently is not. Continued tracing and investigations of the disease’s spread is also important, as is “robust testing” and “enough personal protective gear to handle a surge,” Zink said.

Dunleavy said he was considering retail and hospitality industries as the next possible areas for easing restrictions. The changes would likely be slow and careful, the governor said.

“As we open up parts of the economy, the moment we see something that is a spike, a cluster, then we're going to act very quickly,” Dunleavy said.

If there was a widespread spike in cases, Dunleavy said the state would consider replacing previous mandates.

Zink also emphasized the importance of wearing a cloth face covering in public settings as a way to keep from spreading the illness to others, especially since some people have been shown to spread the disease without symptoms.

She also suggested keeping a log of daily interactions, because it can help public health workers determine who someone may have been in contact with if that person was possibly exposed to the virus or became ill.

Through Wednesday night, there have been 35 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Alaska. Another six hospitalizations involve people who are suspected of having COVID-19.

Cases announced Thursday include a Kodiak man in his 20s, the first reported case in that community, which was announced by Kodiak officials Wednesday. Two Anchorage men in their 30s tested positive, as did an Anchorage woman in her 50s and an Anchorage man in his 60s. A Juneau girl under the age of 10 was also among the newly announced cases.

The last case reported by the state Thursday involves a Juneau resident who is the seventh Lemon Creek Correctional Center employee to test positive for the illness. Alaska Department of Corrections commissioner Nancy Dahlstrom announced the case Wednesday evening during a media briefing.

[Alaska officials take initial steps toward ‘new normal’ as virus tally increases]

The state reports cases based on a person’s permanent residence, which doesn’t necessarily reflect where a person became ill or was tested for the illness.

No new deaths were reported in the state. The deaths of nine Alaskans, including two who were out of state at the time, have been tied to COVID-19.

A total of 110 people had recovered from the disease in the state, according to data from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Some of Alaska’s recovered and active cases of COVID-19 include workers at Pogo Mine in Interior Alaska. Six workers had tested positive for the illness by Thursday morning, according to a statement from Northern Star Resources Ltd., which owns the mine.

Three of the workers have recovered from COVID-19 while three others are “considered mild-to-moderate” cases, Northern Star Resources said.

According to state data, 8,735 people have been tested for COVID-19 through Wednesday night.

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