ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Department of Health and Social Services has added two more deaths to the state’s COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 14.
Both deaths were Juneau residents living out of state in long-term care facilities in Washington and New Jersey, a department spokesman said Friday.
The deaths occurred in early May, but DHSS spokesman Clinton Bennett said they were recently reported to the state.
The state-submitted coronavirus data center must include reported cases and deaths in residents, even if they occur out of state, in accordance with national standards for reporting vital records.
The department will report 30 new cases in Alaska on Friday with 20 cases residing in six regions, bringing the total to 836 residents. There are now 303 active COVID-19 cases in Alaska residents.
- Anchorage Township: 7
- Kenai Peninsula District: 2
- Fairbanks North Star District: 3
- Juneau City and District: 3
- Matanuska-Susitna Municipality: 4
- Sitka city and district: 1
There were also 10 new nonresident cases reported for Thursday, bringing nonresident cases in the state to 167.
- Anchorage Township: 3
- Nome: 1
- Bethel: 1
- Bristol Bay plus peninsula and lake area: 5
The five new cases recorded in the Bristol Bay Area plus the Lake and the Peninsula were workers in the fishing industry, “said DHSS.
There are currently 12 people hospitalized with, or suspected of having, the virus.
Norton Sound Health Corp. said one of the new cases was a patient at the Quyanna Care Center who tested positive during routine tests.
“Given the congregated nature of our nursing home and the population served, NSHC implemented a robust infection prevention and control program at a very early stage of the pandemic to protect both our residents and healthcare personnel,” said Angie Gorn, President and CEO of NSHC. “We are blessed to have access to asymptomatic evidence, which has led to rapid identification of cases and immediate isolation to prevent spread.”
The corporation said the patient was asymptomatic but had not left the area in the past three months.
This story has been updated to reflect a change in coronavirus data reporting, adding a new case to the Juneau City and Borough resident totals.
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