Statewide COVID-19 Communications: April 13-19 Communications Resources

COVID-19: State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services

COVID-19 Communications Resources 

Week In Review: April 13-19, 2020

 

Case Counts: For the recording time period, April 13-19, 2020

  • 47 new positive cases (321 total cases as of 4/20/20)
  • 1 new death (9 total as of 4/20/20)
  • New communities with positive cases: Nome, Kodiak

New cases are reported from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. daily and are posted by noon to the data dashboard at coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com.

New Data Model expected to launch on 4/22/20

coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com

Epidemiology curve by onset date

 Cumulative incidence curve by onset date

 

New State of Alaska Health Mandates

BRAND NEW FAQ: https://covid19.alaska.gov/faq/

Health Mandate 15 (April 15): Allows some health care services to resume. Health care facilities and providers listed in the mandate can resume services that require minimal personal protective equipment, starting April 20. They must follow new rules about protective measures and testing. Facilities and providers should still try to avoid physical interaction, if possible, and provide other ways to access services, such as through videoconferencing. Urgent health services must include enhanced screening and safety measures. Non-urgent elective services can resume on May 4, 2020 if specific protective rules are followed. Read the full mandate at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/…/bulletins/286bd19

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Health Mandate 14 (April 13): A temporary quarantine and isolation program using non-congregate shelter options – such as hotels, dormitories or non-traditional structures – is being implemented for three specific populations under #COVID19 Health Mandate 014 which was issued this evening:

  • First responders and health care workers who need to quarantine safely without exposing their families.
  • Homeless families, with at least one member who tested positive for COVID-19, who live in congregate shelters and will require isolation.
  • Homeless individuals, including individuals temporarily displaced from their residence, who require quarantine or isolation.
  • Read the full health mandate for more details at https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/…/bulletins/28657a8

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Expanded COVID-19 Testing

Testing for COVID-19 has recently expanded and is now available in more communities across Alaska. Even if you are experiencing mild symptoms like cough, chills, fever or difficulty breathing, isolate yourself immediately and call a health care provider for a test referral.

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CDC/White House Task Force News

New websites

Coronavirus.alaska.gov and covid19.alaska.gov now link to a new centralized portal for COVID-19 information where you can find health information, economic help for individuals and businesses, mandates and alerts, and news from all the State of Alaska departments.

The DHSS COVID-19 website will still be available directly at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/id/Pages/COVID-19/ and through the new portal. The DHSS website has several new pages including COVID-19 testing, child and family well-being, coping with stress and cloth face coverings. Several more pages are under development and will be available soon

New COVID-19 Family Survey

DHSS' Section of Women's, Children's and Family Health is launching a series of surveys of Alaska families to find out how the #COVID19 pandemic is impacting their lives. The survey is seeking input on the physical and mental health and education of children in Alaska to inform the way services are provided to families during this challenging time. Alaskans who would like to participate in the survey can text “AKFAMILY” to 907-269-0344 or access the surveys at the Maternal Child Health Epidemiology Unit websiteRead the press release.  

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DPA Supplemental Assistance

The Division of Public Assistance recently received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service to issue emergency allotments for the April and May 2020 benefit months. Each household will receive the maximum allowable benefit for their household size regardless of the income being counted. The additional benefits will be issued as supplements beginning this week (April 13, 2020).

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Substance Misuse Support

A new webpage from the DHSS Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention offers guidance for substance-related considerations during COVID-19 including virtual support, mental wellness, substance use disorder prevention and treatment and recovery.

Alternate Care Sites

Construction to transform the Alaska Airlines Center into an alternate care site is now complete.

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Hand Sanitizer Information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently updated their FAQs on hand sanitizer reminding everyone that the best way to prevent the spread of infections and decrease the risk of getting sick is by washing your hands with plain soap and water, but if soap and water are not available, CDC recommends you use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

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New Outreach

  • Keep Flattening the Curve: DHSS has created a new animated graphic asking Alaskans to help keep our pandemic curve in Alaska as flat as Sleeping Lady instead of as tall as Denali. We encourage you to use and share.
  • Recreate Close to Home: An animated Public Service Announcement encourages Alaskans to recreate as close to home as possible.
  • #AKYouthCombatCOVID: A new youth campaign is encouraging Alaska youth to message on 1) Staying home; 2) Washing hand; 3) Wearing a cloth face covering; 4) Social distancing; 5) What to do if you are sick; 6) Sharing ways to stay happy. You are encouraged to create their own pics/memes/videos, etc. and post on social media. The State of Alaska and other partners, such as your school districts, will look for the hashtag #AKyouthCombatCOVIDso that we can amplify/cross-post some of YOUR POSTS to get them out to a statewide audience.
  • #WashUpAK: As part of the youth campaign, the Alaska Teen Media Institute, Studio Pulse and DHSS have created a hand wash dance, encouraging Alaskans to create their own versions and share them on social media.
  • Wash Your Hands: A new “Break the Chain” video encourages handwashing and is also targeting a youth audience.
  • Confidentiality: Reminding the general public that DHSS releases as much information as possible about cases to keep Alaskans safe, but keep details confidential to protect the privacy of patients.

Lastly, sharing from the COVID-19 Alaska Daily Clinical Update: How does Alaska compare to NYC and the rest of the Lower 48? One way to compare places with dramatically different populations is by tracking how long it takes for cases to double. Nationally, cases of COVID-19 are increasing by about 4-5% per day and doubling around every 10-12 days, down from mid-March when they were increasing 20-30% per day and doubling every 2-3 days. Testing is also increasing by a rate of about 4-5% per day nationally. Alaska’s cases are increasing more slowly. Doubling in AK is taking more than 15 days, down from 10 days to double at the end of March and less than 5 days to double in mid and early March. For comparison, at the peak velocity of the epidemic in NYC, cases doubled around every 2 days for more than two weeks.  Even now, after weeks of curve flattening and nearly 300,000 cases, NYC cases are still doubling slightly faster than in AK. Alaska has 43 cases per 100,000 people, fewer than all but three states. South Dakota, with its recent rise in cases, has 185 cases per 100,000, while NY has 1,248 cases per 100,000 people. Overall, AK is currently doing much better than most other states.