DHSS Press Release: Two new cases of COVID-19 announced in two Alaska communities

Alaska DOH sent this bulletin at 04/26/2020 01:45 PM AKDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Clinton Bennett, DHSS, (907) 269-4996, clinton.bennett@alaska.gov

Two new cases of COVID-19 announced in two Alaska communities

April 26, 2020 ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) today announced two new cases of COVID-19 in two communities: North Pole (1) and Sitka (1). This brings the total case count to 341.

This reflects data from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on April 25 that posted at noon today on the DHSS Coronavirus Response AK COVID-19 Cases and Testing Dashboard.

Of the new cases, both are male. One is aged 40-49 and one is aged 60-69. There have been a total of 36 hospitalizations and nine deaths with no new hospitalizations or deaths reported yesterday. Recovered cases total 217.

This is Sitka’s first COVID-19 case and the person is a resident at a long-term care facility. The Sitka Emergency Operations Center reported yesterday that the patient was immediately isolated and transferred to a hospital. The facility is working with the DHSS Section of Epidemiology to assess the risk to other residents and staff, as well as implementing additional infection control measures.

The Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) announced today the confirmation of the first positive case of an inmate at a DOC facility. The case is at Goose Creek Correctional Center in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. That case will be included in tomorrow’s case count for April 26. DOC is acting quickly to investigate the case and is working closely with the Division of Public Health which is assisting with the contact tracing and investigation.

Stay informed

Questions about COVID-19?

For general questions and assistance, please call 2-1-1.
For the general public, questions regarding DHSS COVID response, including mandates and alerts, can be sent to covidquestions@alaska.gov.
Data questions can be sent to data.coronavirus@alaska.gov
For DHSS media inquiries, please contact clinton.bennett@alaska.gov.

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DHSS_PressRelease_AKCOVIDCases_20200426.pdf

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