Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 580 new cases and no deaths reported Tuesday

Alaska on Tuesday reported 580 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.

A surge in case counts has afflicted the state for weeks. Health officials nationwide expected to see an uptick in infections in the weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, when more Americans may have gathered or traveled. Alaska’s rising case numbers have translated to an increase in both hospitalizations and deaths.

In total, 145 Alaskans and one nonresident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began here in March, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Alaska’s overall death rate per capita is one of the lowest in the country, but state officials say it’s difficult to compare Alaska to other states because of its vast geography and vulnerable health care system.

Last week included the state’s highest ever daily case tally, with 933 reported Saturday. As infections continue to rise, so does concern from officials about potential for the state’s hospitals becoming overwhelmed.

State health officials have repeatedly expressed concern that limited hospital staffing in Alaska could also pose problems as the virus continues to spread.

[More than 35,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Alaska next week]

By Tuesday, 145 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Alaska and another 12 people in hospitals were suspected to be infected with the virus. Twenty-one people with COVID-19 were on ventilators and 35 intensive care unit beds were available across the state. COVID-19 patients accounted for about 17.7% of the state’s total hospitalizations.

An outbreak among residents and staff at the Anchorage Pioneer Home continued over the past week, with 12 new cases among residents and two among staff identified there since the start of the month, state health officials said Tuesday. The outbreak — the second one at the home so far — began Nov. 3 and has resulted in infections among 28 residents and 15 staff as well as one resident death.

Communal living settings, especially elder care facilities, are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of COVID-19, health experts say. That’s one of the reasons staff and residents are being prioritized for a potential vaccine, expected in the next few weeks.

Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson opted to extend the base’s public health emergency into January of next year, according to a statement from JBER commander Kirsten Aguilar. The initial emergency was declared on base last month and “gives the force of law to orders to quarantine, isolate and/or other restrict movement,” the statement said.

Of the 564 cases reported among Alaska residents Monday, there were 209 in Anchorage, plus three in Chugiak, 19 in Eagle River and one in Girdwood; one in Anchor Point; five in Homer; 12 in Kenai; three in Nikiski; one in Seward; nine in Soldotna; two in Sterling; 28 in Kodiak; one in Healy; 54 in Fairbanks; 21 in North Pole; four in Delta Junction; one in Tok; two in Big Lake; 15 in Palmer; 28 in Wasilla; two in Nome; 10 in Utqiagvik; one in Kotzebue; nine in Juneau; one in Ketchikan; three in Sitka; one in Unalaska and 11 in Bethel.

Among communities smaller than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there were three cases in the Northern Kenai Peninsula Borough; one in the Kodiak Island Borough; two in the Fairbanks North Star Borough; one in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; one in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough; two in the Northwest Arctic Borough; one in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough; two in the Aleutians East Borough; 64 in the Bethel Census Area; one in the combined Bristol Bay and Lake and Peninsula boroughs; and 24 in the Kusilvak Census Area and five in unknown parts of the state.

The state also reported that 16 nonresidents in Alaska tested positive for COVID-19, including one in Anchorage; one in Fairbanks; one in Delta Junction; nine in Unalaska and four in unspecified locations.

Twenty-four out of 25 crew members on the U.S. Seafoods Legacy fishing vessel tested positive for COVID-19 while it was docked in Dutch Harbor, according to Unalaska city officials last week. The crew members will stay on the boat until the end of their isolation, officials said.

The nine cases of COVID-19 in Unalaska were detected among nonresident crew members on a separate vessel, the Enterprise, owned by the O’Hara Corporation, officials wrote in a release Monday. The factor trawler arrived in Unalaska Saturday and all 28 people onboard were tested. The people who tested positive were isolated onshore and are doing well, the statement said.

“The O’Hara Corporation is greatly concerned by the recent positive COVID test results on board the F/T Enterprise,” according to a statement from the company. “Our primary concern is the health of our crew and preventing impacts to the community of Unalaska.”

The company plans on moving those who are isolated “closer to full service medical services.”

The state’s testing positivity rate was 6.8% by Tuesday, based on a seven day rolling average.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

It is not clear how many of the people who tested positive for the virus Tuesday were showing symptoms when they were tested. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates about a third of people with coronavirus infections are asymptomatic.

State health officials continue to ask Alaskans to avoid indoor gatherings with non-household members and report that most Alaskans who contract the virus get it from a friend, family member or coworker.