Updated: 5 p.m., July 26
Cases of the novel coronavirus in Alaska reached a new daily high of 231 people as of Sunday, July 26, including 186 Alaskans and 45 nonresidents.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said the newly infected lived in 18 communities, with Anchorage alone documenting 154 cases. Fairbanks had nine, and Eagle River three, while Juneau, North Pole, Palmer, Wrangell and Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon had two each.
Also among newly confirmed positive cases were one each in Chugiak, Homer, Houston Ketchikan, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Sitka, Wasilla, Unalaska, the Valdez-Cordova Census Area and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.
DHSS’s data also showed 34 nonresident seafood workers testing positive in Seward, three individuals in Fairbanks, one in Ketchikan and seven in unknown areas of the state.
Three additional nonresident cases were also added from previous data.
Overall the new resident cases range from nine individuals under the age of 10 to one aged 80 or older, with the rest in age groups ranging from 10-19 to 70-79.
There have been 115 hospitalizations and 20 deaths to date, with no new hospitalizations or deaths reported in the latest update. A total of 817 of those infected are now recovered.
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, faced with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Alaska’s largest cities, announced on July 22 new restrictions limiting the size of gatherings and capacity within indoor businesses to be imposed on the municipality’s bars, restaurants and other establishments. Two days later the Anchorage School District said fall classes will begin not in the classroom, but online only.
A total of 207,264 tests have now been conducted. The average percentage of daily positive test for the previous three days as of July 23 was 1.91 percent.
Updates on the impact of COVID-19 are posted daily at coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com.
For Cordova updates, visit the city’s COVID-19 dashboard here.
