Alaska logs another new COVID-19 active-case high but no new hospitalizations or deaths

Alaska’s level of COVID-19 infections continues to rise, hitting another new high Monday with nearly 500 active cases around the state.

The state reported no new deaths or hospitalizations, however, and hospital statistics indicate health-care capacity remains stable around the state.

Another 21 residents and four nonresidents tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard. That includes eight new resident and two nonresident cases in Seward, where an outbreak continues to expand.

Authorities in Seward on Monday canceled Fourth of July events this coming weekend.

Along with the Seward cases, there were six new cases reported in Anchorage, two in Willow, and one each in Eagle River, Fairbanks, North Pole, Wasilla, and a community in the Nome area, according to state data. The two remaining nonresident cases were located in unspecified travelers in Anchorage and Mat-Su.

The new cases bring the state’s number of infected people not considered recovered -- the active-case count -- to nearly 500: 365 residents and 133 nonresidents. It’s not clear how many of those people are showing symptoms or if so, how sick they are.

There have been a total of 1,087 cases confirmed in Alaska since the pandemic began in March, 904 in residents and another 183 in nonresidents, many in the seafood industry where testing is required. State travel mandates involving testing have also increased the number of people getting tested for the virus.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 didn’t change between Sunday and Monday. That’s one barometer of the severity of any outbreaks, though one that can lag behind real time.

As of Monday, 67 Alaskans had been hospitalized with coronavirus since March. Fourteen Alaskans have died with the virus, including four out of state.

There was a 1.27 % positivity rate in a 3-day average of test results, according to state data. That’s the highest those numbers have been since late April.

State officials have warned that Alaska’s numbers are tricky to compare to other states because our total number of tests includes residents and nonresidents but our population numbers used for per capita calculations are based only on residents.

The numbers also reflect the number of tests performed rather than the number of people tested; multiple tests can be performed on one person.

[Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if you’d like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.]