DHSS Press Release: 30 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths recorded in Alaska; 20 resident, 10 nonresident

Alaska DOH sent this bulletin at 06/26/2020 03:55 PM AKDT

DHSS Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

30 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths recorded in Alaska; 20 resident, 10 nonresident

June 26, 2020 ANCHORAGE — The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) today announced 30 new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska; 20 are residents of nine communities: Anchorage (5), Juneau (3), Wasilla (3), Eagle River (2), Fairbanks (2), Seward (2), North Pole (1), Palmer (1) and Sitka (1). This brings the total number of Alaska cases to 836.

Ten new nonresident cases were also identified in:

  • Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula boroughs (5): seafood industry
  • Anchorage Municipality (3): 2 unknown and 1 tourism
  • Bethel Census Area (1): other
  • Nome Census Area (1): other

This brings the total number of nonresident cases to 167.

Of the new Alaska cases, 11 are male and nine are female. One is aged 10-19; three are aged 20-29; three are aged 30-39; four are aged 40-49; four are aged 50-59; three are aged 60-69; and two are aged 70-79.  

In relation to the two new Seward cases, the Seward Community Health Center is setting up drive-through COVID-19 testing for tomorrow, June 27. More details will be released soon.

There have been a total of 67 hospitalizations and 14 deaths with two new hospitalizations and two new deaths reported yesterday. The deaths occurred in May outside of Alaska but are being recorded now as Juneau residents. The individuals, who have no connection to one another, had been in long-term care facilities in different states outside of Alaska when they died. One of the deceased was male and the other was female. One was 60-69 years old, the other 70-79 years old. Their death certificates listed Juneau as their place of residence. In accordance with national standards, COVID-19 cases and deaths are counted by a person’s residency, not where they contracted the virus. This provides consistency and avoids cases being double-counted between states. The two deaths are part of three new COVID-19 cases being reported in Juneau today, which means Juneau has one new active case.

“We are saddened by the loss of these two Alaskans and are thinking of their loved ones and families as they continue to mourn,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer. “I also want to remind Alaskans to buckle down on prevention. As case counts continue to rise in Alaska, we must be diligent about keeping six feet away from others, wearing a cloth face covering when you’re out in public, washing your hands often and isolating and calling a health care provider to ask about testing if you’re experiencing even mild COVID-19 symptoms.”

Recovered cases now total 519, with six new recovered cases recorded yesterday. A total of 101,792 tests have been conducted. In the past week, from June 19-25, 17,386 tests were conducted with a rolling three-day percent positivity rate of 0.84%. According to a national website that tracks COVID-19 statistics, including testing data, Alaska ranked sixth highest among U.S. states for number of tests per capita, with the lowest percentage of returned positive test results. One caveat to that data, however, is that the number of tests includes residents and nonresidents while the population is based on residents only.

This report reflects data from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on June 25 that posted at noon today on the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub. Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub. Also note that upon further investigation and interviews, data points for cases – such as the date and residence – may on occasion change on the data dashboard after they are announced.

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