The level of Alaska COVID-19 infections continues to rise, reaching another new high on Monday with nearly 500 active cases statewide.
However, the state did not report new deaths or hospitalizations, and hospital statistics indicate that health care capacity remains stable across the state.
Another 21 residents and four non-residents tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday, according to panel COVID-19 from the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services. That includes eight new resident and two non-resident cases in Seward, where an outbreak continues to expand.
Seward officials on Monday canceled the events of July 4 next weekend.
Along with Seward’s cases, there were six new cases reported in Anchorage, two in Willow and one in Eagle River, Fairbanks, North Pole, Wasilla and a community in the Nome area, according to state data. The remaining two nonresident cases were located on unspecified travelers in Anchorage and Mat-Su.
The new cases bring the number of infected people in the state who do not consider themselves recovered (the active case count) to nearly 500: 365 residents and 133 non-residents. It is unclear how many of those people show symptoms or, if so, how sick they are.
A total of 1,087 cases have been confirmed in Alaska since the pandemic began in March, 904 in residents and another 183 in non-residents, many in the fishing industry where evidence is required. State travel mandates that include testing have also increased the number of people being tested for the virus.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 did not change between Sunday and Monday. That’s a barometer of the severity of any outbreak, albeit one that can be delayed in real time.
By state
7-day averages
Hospital resources
As of Monday, 67 Alaska residents had been hospitalized with coronaviruses since March. Fourteen Alaska residents have died from the virus, including four out of state.
There was a 1.27% positivity rate on an average of 3 days of test results, according to state data. That’s the highest number they’ve been since late April.
State officials have warned that Alaska’s numbers are difficult to compare to other states because our total number of tests includes residents and non-residents, 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 done on one person.
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