Update: Pandemic spread in triple digits for 20th day

COVID-19 cases continue rise, statewide count at 11,039 infected

A discarded facemask. (Oct. 6, 2020) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

Updated 6:45 p.m., Oct. 13

A surge in the spread of COVID-19 in Alaska continues with numbers in the triple digits for a 20th consecutive day, with 157 new cases boosting the overall number of cases to 11,039.

The 157 new resident cases and four new nonresident cases boosted those totals to 10,028 residents and 1,011 nonresidents infected, state health officials said on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The latest figures posted on the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services dashboard included two resident cases removed through data verification.

Of that group, 5,284 residents and 625 nonresidents have recovered, leaving active cases of 4,744 residents and 386 nonresidents, according to the latest DHSS dashboard data.

The death toll remains at 60 individuals, all of them residents, led by 36 in Anchorage.

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As of Oct. 12 there were 59 people hospitalized with COVID-19 related issues, including 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 others whose medical condition is under investigation. Eight of those hospitalized were on ventilators.

The 153 new resident cases included 66 in Anchorage, 23 in Fairbanks, nine in Utqiagvik, eight in Palmer, six in Soldotna, five each in Juneau and Kenai, four each in North Pole and Wasilla three in Kotzebue, two each in Chugiak Cordova and Sterling and one each in Chevak, Eagle River, Fairbanks North Star Borough Kenai Peninsula south, Kenai Peninsula North, Kusilvak Census Area, Haines, Homer, Northwest arctic Borough and Valdez.

Four new nonresident cases, all still under investigation, include two in Anchorage, and one each in Kenai and Unalaska.

DHSS  officials also said that since the last update on Oct. 6 that an additional 20 residents and five staff at the Fairbanks Pioneer home have tested positive for COVID-19. That brought the total number of cases at the Fairbanks Pioneer home Since Sept. 21 to 29 residents and 24 staff. As of Oct. 13, 25 residents and 10 staff remain active with the novel coronavirus.

Statewide numbers for the increase in COVID-19 infections are at an all-time high and Alaska’s overall alert level continued to be high and trending up.  DHSS officials are continuing to urge everyone to get tested if feeling ill, wear a mask, practice social distancing and hand washing, to help prevent spread of the virus.

Most cases and the most deaths from the virus have been in the state’s largest population areas, led by the Municipality of Anchorage, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the city and borough of Juneau.

Statewide updates are provided daily by state health officials Alaska’s COVID-19 dashboard at covid19.alaska.gov.

The DHSS daily report reflects data from midnight to 11:59 p.m. which is posted at noon daily on the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub.

As of Oct. 12, 514,789 tests had been conducted, including 17,915 tests in the previous seven days, DHSS officials said. The average percentage of daily positive test for the previous seven days was 4.62 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.

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