Updated 4:20 p.m., Aug. 12
New COVID-19 infections in Alaska confirmed on Wednesday, Aug. 12, include 62 residents of 11 communities, among them seven elders and one employee of the Anchorage Pioneer Home.
State health officials also reported the death of a Fairbanks woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions, and six nonresident cases in Anchorage, Juneau and the Yakutat/Hoonah-Angoon Census Area.
Those cases pushed the statewide overall infection rate to 3,881 Alaskans, plus 774 nonresidents. Since the pandemic hit Alaska earlier this year, 27 people have died from the virus.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said two resident cases that were reported in error have been removed. One nonresident case originally attributed to Bristol Bay Census Area has been corrected to Haines Borough.
There has been a total of 164 hospitalizations, including three new hospitalizations reported on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
DHSS officials said that the latest resident data, for the 24-hour period ended at midnight Aug. 11, includes 40 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Anchorage, six each in Fairbanks and the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, two each in Juneau and Sterling and one each in Kenai Peninsula Borough North, Metlakatla, Prince of Wales-Hyder Borough, Sitka, Wasilla and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.
The six nonresident cases include one each in Juneau, one in the Yakutat/Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and four in Anchorage.
The municipality of Anchorage remains the state’s leading virus hotspot, followed by the Fairbanks North Star Borough and Juneau.
The DHSS daily report reflects data from 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. which is posted at noon daily on the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub.
More data is online at coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com
DHSS officials said tests positive of the seven Pioneer Home elders and one staff member in Anchorage brought the number of Pioneer Home cases to a total of 12, including 10 elders and two employees.
After the first positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at the Anchorage Pioneer Home, DHSS recommending testing of all residents every two weeks. All residents who test positive are isolated within the home, while staff testing positive are self-isolating at home.
As of Aug. 9, 292,582 tests had been conducted. The average percentage of daily positive test for the previous three days as of Aug. 9 was 2.54 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.
