Updated June 30, 11:15 a.m.
COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Alaska. Twenty-five new cases were reported on Monday, June 29, among them 21 residents of eight communities and four nonresidents, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said.
That put the total at 904 residents, 183 nonresidents, 525 recovered, 67 hospitalized and 14 deaths.
New nonresident cases as of June 29 include two in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, and one each in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
In response to the increase in new cases the city of Seward has issued a statement notifying their community of the cases, as well as recommendations for protective measures and updates on testing locations.
“We are definitely seeing a sharp increase in cases in Alaska, and just like in other states, many of the recent new cases are in youth or younger adults,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer. Some of these cases are linked to bars in several communities. Going to a bar right now, especially to listen to a concert, should be viewed as a high-risk activity. The virus can spread easily in crowded indoor spaces especially when people are close together and singing or talking.”
A total of 108,709 tests for COVID-19 have now been conducted in Alaska. The average percentage of daily positive tests for the three days previous to June 28 is 1.27 percent.
Updates on the impact of COVID-19 are posted daily at coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com.
