Since the epidemic began, a total of 96 Alaskos have died from the virus, and Alaskan per capita mortality rates have been relatively low.
State figures show that the four dead were residents of two anchorages, a resident of Fairbanks and a resident of Junau.
As of Wednesday, Alaskan hospitals currently had 101 people with coronavirus, including seven patients on ventilators. There were 16 additional people in the hospitals who were suspected of having Covid-19.
As of Wednesday, all regions of the state were currently at the highest warning levels, meaning there is a widespread community transition to communities in Alaska.
While the daily COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, they do not capture all the recent cases in the state. With the number of cases increasing, public health workers are lagging behind in entering the data, state health department epidemiologist Luisa Castradale said in an interview Wednesday. The leg was first reported by Alaska Public Media.
State public health workers receive faxes, phone calls, and electronic reports from labs with test results. They confirm that it is a Covid-19 case and enter it in the state database. Castrodale said it becomes more complex amid growing cases.
“The volume of reports has increased and we have not been able to keep pace with the process,” Castrodale said.
He said it is difficult to know how far behind the state is in terms of data access. There may be some people in the stack of paper results who have already tested positive and were counted in the statewide database weeks ago and will not be counted again. However, he said, if they were able to process each case on a daily basis, the number would probably be 25% to 50% higher.
“It’s hard to catch that (estimate), but I think, to take home again: we’re not plateau ing, we’re not slowing down, we’re getting more reports every day,” Castrodale said.
In the midst of acceleration, they are trying to make the process more efficient, and they are hiring more employees to work in data entry.
“But at the end of the day, there’s just so many arms and so many bodies that it can work,” he said.
He said all cases would be terminated once they were filed.
Among the residents registered Wednesday in the state among 486 new cases, there are 215 in Anchorage, plus one in Chugiak, 13 in Eagle River, and one in Girdwood; Five in Nikiski; Two in Seward; 27 in Soldotna; Three in sterling; Five in Kodak; One in Valdez; One in Healy; Seven in Fairbanks; Six at the North Pole; 12 at Delta Junction; 4 large ponds; 18 in Palmer; 46 in Wasila; One in the willow; One in Nome; 11 in Utkiagvik; Three in Cotzebu; 12 in Juneau; One in Matlakatla; Three in Sitaka; One in Unalska; And 20 at Bethel.
Communities with a population of less than 1,000 do not have a name to protect privacy, there were five in the northern Kenai Peninsula borough; Three in the southern Kenai Peninsula borough; Three in the northern opera borough; In an Elliott East borough; Bethel Census Area 27; Five in the Dillingham census area; And one of the Kusilwak census area.
There were also seven new non-resident cases: two in Anchorage, one in the Valdez-Cordova census area; One at Fairbanks; One in the Northwest Arctic Borough; And two in Junau.
In new cases, how many patients tested positive did not show symptoms of the virus. While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.
As of Wednesday, the state’s test positive was 8.45% above the seven-day rolling average. Health officials say a positivity rate of more than %% indicates a high community transmission and not adequate testing.
– Anne Burman and Morgan Krugan Co.
