Updated: 8:36 p.m., June 3, 2020
After weeks of a minimal number of people testing positive for the COVID-19 virus in Alaska a surge in positive test results pushed the statewide total on Wednesday, June 3, to 505 people.
Recovered cases stand at 373, with 122 still active, with a total of 47 hospitalized overall, and 10 deaths.
Eighteen new cases of infection, for the 24-hour period ended at midnight Tuesday, June 2, included Anchorage 5, Homer 4, Wasilla 3, Eagle River 2 and one each in Soldotna, Palmer, the Kenai Peninsula Borough and Big Lake.
In Anchorage to date 25 residents and caregivers at the Providence Alaska Hospital’s Transitional Care Center have tested positive for the virus
Kenai Peninsula Borough officials said three individuals at the Nikiski Fire Department tested positive and others in that department have been quarantined due to their potential exposure.
On Wednesday, June 3, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued an updated health mandate regarding interstate and international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. It requires that travelers produce a SARS-CoV2 PCR test result showing that they tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours before departure for Alaska.
An option is for travelers to show documentation that they tested negative for COVID-19 within five days before departure and then get a second SARS-CoV2 PCR test upon arrival in the state that also proves negative.
Alaska residents returning from trips of five days or less are not required to be tested before leaving or prior to returning to their return to the state.
The complete revised mandate is online at covid19.alaska.gov.
Alaska will continue to see an increase in COVID-19 cases as the state’s economy opens up, “but if we work together it will be manageable,” the governor said. “We understand this virus now and we can outsmart it in most cases, but if we can keep the infection rate lower than higher, we can get through this.”
State health officials recommend that everyone continue to wear face masks when out shopping and at social gatherings and maintain social distancing as much as possible.
Not continuing to open up the state’s economy would have a detrimental impact on society and the state’s economy, Dunleavy said.
“We are not putting the economy ahead of health, but they are intertwined,” he said. “If we see something extraordinary that we believe will be problematic, there may be some changes here and there, but we don’t see that at this point.”
The state plans to have contractors available after June 5 to test at airports in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg any travelers without documentation showing they have tested negative before arrival.
Numbers of those testing positive are expected to rise as the state reopens the economy, so what is occurring now should not surprise anyone, “but we are pretty confident that we will be able to manage it,” the governor said.
Some smaller communities may still have in place restrictions on non-essential travel.
Meanwhile, the process of reopening the Alaska economy continues, with more businesses reopening with protocols in place to protect employees and customers, including mandatory masking and social distancing. With thousands of people seeking state unemployment insurance benefits after losing jobs because of the global pandemic, there is much pressure to get the economy moving again.
The Cordova City Council unanimously approved reopening businesses and public venues, including houses of worship, libraries, museums, recreational facilities and sports facilities.
Still several big events, from the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival in Cordova to the Alaska State Fair in Palmer and Salmonfest in Ninilchik on the Kenai Peninsula, have been cancelled this year.
State updates on the number of people infected and recovered are posted by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services at coronavirus.alaska.gov.
