Update 1:20 p.m., Aug. 29.
New cases of the novel coronavirus in Alaska jumped back into the triple digits on Friday, Aug. 28, with 121 most recently infected, including 76 in Anchorage, state health officials said.
The additional 118 residents and three nonresidents added to the data list pushed the overall number of residents with COVID-19 to 5,092 and the nonresident total to 831 individuals.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services has not confirmed how many of the more than 60 cases at The Brother Francis Shelter and 16 cases at McLaughlin Youth Center, both in Anchorage, were included in the cases announced.
A DHSS spokesperson said on Thursday, Aug. 27, that there is sometimes a data entry lag when there is a large batch of cases, because DHSS prioritizes the response to the cases over the data entry, and some communities release information about positive cases before those numbers are included in the COVID-19 data dashboard.
New resident cases include 76 in Anchorage, 16 in Fairbanks, three each in Bethel, Juneau and Wasilla, two each in Eagle River, Prince of Wale-Hyder Census Area, Nome Census Area, Utqiagvik and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and one each in Cordova, Ketchikan, Nome, North Pole, Sitka, Yakutat/Hoonah-Angoon census areas and one in an unidentified location under investigation.
The three nonresident cases include one in Anchorage and two in Fairbanks.
Two resident cases were corrected to nonresident cases and one resident case was added from Aug. 26.
There have been 213 hospitalizations to date, with 37 people currently hospitalized, including six new ones. The death toll stands at 37 individuals.
Officials with the Anchorage Health Department and the municipality’s Emergency Operations Center confirmed on Aug. 27 identifying confirmed cases of COVID-19 among more than 60 guests and one staff member at the Brother Francis Shelter operated by Catholic Social Services. All those who tested positive were in isolation in a monitored location. The health department is working with all providers of services to homeless people to test guests and staff at Anchorage shelters and soup kitchens and those living in homeless camps. All Anchorage shelters have been screening guests and staff for fever and other COVID-19 symptoms for months, but this outbreak was not recognized until widespread testing was conducted.
DHSS also confirmed that 12 youths in one treatment unit and four staff members who work on the unit at McLaughlin tested positive for the virus. The case cluster in Anchorage has also included 14 residents and four employees of the Anchorage Pioneer Home.
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.
As of Aug. 27, 339,538 tests had been conducted. The average percentage of daily positive test for the previous seven days as of Aug. 27 was 2.22 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.
