New cases of novel coronavirus are being confirmed daily, the bulk of them Anchorage and Fairbanks North Star Borough, with the toll through noon on Tuesday, April 7, at 213 statewide.
State health officials said for the 24-hour period ending April 6 at midnight 22 more individuals were confirmed positive, including 10 in Anchorage, 11 in the Fairbanks area and one in Bethel.
Twenty-three people are hospitalized, and 29 people have recovered.
Data compiled by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services shows Anchorage with 98 confirmed cases overall, 35 of them travel related; the Fairbanks North Star Borough with 65, including 11 travel related. A total of 14 cases were reported in The Ketchikan Gateway Borough, 2 of them travel related.
No new deaths have been reported. Six Alaskans have succumbed to the virus, including a Southeast Alaska resident who was being treated in Washington state for unrelated issues.
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium now currently distributing 40 rapid testing machines and 2,400 test kits made by Abbott Laboratories for diagnosing COVID-19 in rural Alaska, to entities that include the Native Village of Eyak.
Andy Teuber, ANTHC president and chairman, noted that testing for COVID-19 is the primary tool for keeping the pandemic out of Alaska Native communities.
“We are grateful to Abbott for recognizing the critical importance of this measure,” he said.
The overall list of impacted areas also includes the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Yukon-Koyukuk census area, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Juneau city and borough, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Petersburg Borough and Bethel census area.
The number of female patients overall is just slightly higher than males infected.
Daily updates are posted online at coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com.
