Alaska reported a new death and 78 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as active virus cases continued to rise across the state.
The recently reported death of an Anchorage resident reflected on the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard Saturday brings the total number of Alaska residents who have died of the disease to 18. It was not immediately clear when or where the death occurred, or if the person was experiencing symptoms or had an underlying health condition.
The state also reported Saturday that another person who was confirmed to be infected with the virus was hospitalized, bringing that total to 99 since the start of the pandemic.
Among residents and non-residents, there are 1,335 active cases of the disease statewide as of Saturday, while 806 people were listed as recovered. Overall, the state has seen 2,159 confirmed cases of COVID-19: 1,795 Alaska residents and 364 nonresidents.
In Anchorage, the new cases involve 31 residents and four nonresidents. There was also one case each with residents of Chugiak and Eagle River.
The state data panel showed on Saturday that six non-resident shellfish workers recently tested positive for COVID-19 in Unalaska.
Unalaska officials announced on Friday that six crew members of a Bering Sea trawler who arrived to “unload the frozen product” there Thursday tested positive for COVID-19. The American Triumph vessel is part of the American Seafoods fleet and departed for Alaska from Oregon on June 27, according to a company statement.
In May and June, American Seafoods had crew members from three ships test positive for the disease, including four crew members in The American Triumph and 94 in the American Dynasty, The Seattle Times reported.
The seven people who reported symptoms on the boat in Unalaska, including the six who tested positive, were isolated, the city said. The other 112 crew members are being examined and tested, and the crew members are restricted to the ship.
In the Matanuska-Susitna district, four people from Wasilla and two from Palmer tested positive for COVID-19, state data showed.
In the Kenai Peninsula district, two Seward residents and four Soldotna residents tested positive, as did one person in every two smaller communities in the southern and northern parts of the district.
Two people from unspecified places in the Valdez-Córdoba census area also tested positive, state figures showed. The state does not report the names of communities with fewer than 1,000 residents as a means of privacy protection.
Two Juneau people and a non-resident there also tested positive, state data showed. On Friday, the city announced a community-wide spread case of the disease that was later linked to eight other new cases associated with shellfish processor Alaska Glacier Seafoods.
There were also new cases of COVID-19 involving a Ketchikan resident and a Utqiagvik resident, as well as one case each between non-residents in smaller communities within the Denali district and the Bristol Bay and Lake & Peninsula districts. The state also listed a nonresident case associated with an unknown location.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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