Alaska COVID-19 Case Count Summary: Sept. 4, 2020

CASE COUNT SUMMARY, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2020

DHSS today announced 129 new people identified with COVID-19 in Alaska. 121 are residents in five communities: Anchorage (83), Fairbanks (17), North Pole (4), Palmer (4), Wasilla (4), Juneau (3) and one each for Big Lake, Girdwood, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Soldotna and Utqiaġvik.

Eight nonresident cases were reported in:

• Aleutians East Borough: 3 in tourism, 2 other industry, 1 still under investigation
• Anchorage: 1 visitor
• Ketchikan: 1 under investigation

One resident case has been removed and two nonresident seafood industry cases were added to bring the total number of Alaska resident cases to 5,586 and the total number of nonresident cases to 883. The current statewide alert level, based on the average daily case rate for the past 14 days, is intermediate.

Of the 121 Alaska residents, 68 are male and 53 are female. Seven is under the age of 10; eight are aged 10-19; 37 are aged 20-29; 24 are aged 30-39; 11 are aged 40-49; 17 are aged 50-59; 14 is aged 60-69; two is aged 70-79 and two are aged 80 or older.

There have been a total of 232 hospitalizations and 40 deaths with five new hospitalization and no new deaths reported yesterday. There are currently 40 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are hospitalized and three additional patients who are considered persons under investigation (PUI) for a total of 43 current COVID-related hospitalizations. Individuals who no longer require isolation (recovered cases) total 2,096.

A total of 381,937 tests have been conducted, with 9,949 tests conducted in the previous seven days. The average percentage of daily positive tests for the previous seven days is 1.82%.

McLaughlin Youth Center Update

Two additional staff members tested positive for COVID-19 at McLaughlin Youth Center (MYC). There were no new cases in youth at the facility. The staff members who tested positive are in isolation until they receive a clearance letter from public health authorities and it is safe to return to work. Youth who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 have not experienced any symptoms and are being isolated from other youth and staff. Weekly testing for youth and staff members at the facility will continue next week. To date, the total number of cases at MYC is 24 including 15 youth and nine staff members. MYC is still admitting new residents who are tested upon admission, placed in a quarantine unit for 14 days and given another test prior to the end of their time in the quarantine unit. Visitation is still suspended at the facility.

Alaska Pioneer Homes Updates

Fairbanks Pioneer Home
The Fairbanks Pioneer Home has seen six total cases over the course of this pandemic to date: five staff and one resident. One staff member in June tested positive and has since been cleared to come back to work. Two staff members on August 15 and one staff member on August 20 tested positive for COVID-19 during regular staff testing. Another staff member tested positive on August 29. At this time, one has been cleared by Public Health to return to work and three remain off work and in isolation. The one resident who tested positive is from the same neighborhood as some of the staff and is isolating in the home. There are no symptomatic residents at this time. Testing and monitoring all residents and staff continues at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home. All residents and staff have been tested and will continue to be tested at least weekly until two weeks past the last positive. There are 87 residents at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home with 74 staff and 27 Nana Management Services contract employees.

Anchorage Pioneer Home
Testing continues at the Anchorage Pioneer Home with no new cases since the last report earlier this week. The last positive case was a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has been working from home for three weeks without any contact with residents at the home. A total of two staff members remain at home in isolation. There have not been any new positive COVID-19 test results from residents. Of the two elders who were still being monitored earlier this week, one has been declared recovered and the other remains in the hospital.

 

Notes: This report reflects data from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on September 3 that posted at noon today on the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub. There is a lag between cases being reported on the DHSS data dashboard and what local communities report. Each case is an individual person even if they are tested multiple times. Total tests are a not a count of unique individuals tested and includes both positive and negative results. The current number of hospitalized patients represents more real-time data compared to the cumulative total hospitalizations. To view more data visit: data.coronavirus.alaska.gov