Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 50 new cases reported Tuesday

By Anchorage Daily News

Updated: September 23, 2020 Published: September 22, 2020

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Alaska on Tuesday reported 50 new cases of COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard.

The state announced no new deaths Tuesday. In total, 45 Alaskans with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began here in March. The state’s death rate is among the lowest in the country.

Statewide as of Tuesday, 39 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 while four other hospital patients were awaiting test results, according to state data. Of that group of hospitalized people, 14 were on ventilators.

Active cases of COVID-19 among Alaska residents fell from 4,634 on Monday to 4,490 on Tuesday. There were also 683 total active cases among nonresidents by Tuesday.

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

Of the 46 new cases of COVID-19 involving residents, 32 were in Anchorage, including one in Chugiak, Eagle River; one was in Kodiak; three were in Fairbanks; one was in Palmer; three were in Wasilla; one was in Kotzebue

Among communities smaller than 1,000 not identified to protect confidentiality, there were four in the Northwest Arctic Borough and one in the Aleutians West Census Area.

An additional four nonresident cases were confirmed in Anchorage.

-Morgan Krakow