Two additional Alaskans have tested positive for COVID-19 — a resident of an unidentified community in the Bethel Census Area, and a resident of a community in the North Slope region.
The state reported the Bethel Census Area case in its daily update on Wednesday, as well as an additional hospitalization attributed to the disease, bringing the total number of Alaskans hospitalized to 46. No new deaths were reported and no additional nonresidents had tested positive.
The case in the Bethel Census Area was identified through rapid testing conducted in Bethel on Tuesday, according to a Tuesday press release from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. The patient is a resident of a village within the YKHC service area, but was in Bethel at the time of testing. The patient is a girl under the age of 10, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Health and Social Services.
After the state had finalized its numbers for Wednesday, the Arctic Slope Native Association reported the first positive case in the North Slope region. This person was identified through testing at Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital in Utqiagvik, where they had traveled from Anchorage on their way to their home community, according to a Wednesday release from the Arctic Slope Native Association. This case will be included in the state’s Thursday case count.
Of the 46 total hospitalizations that have occurred in the state, 14 are currently hospitalized. The number of recovered cases is 364, with two additional recoveries reported on Wednesday.
A total of 46,363 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the state. Locally, Central Peninsula Hospital has given 1,026 tests, with nine coming back positive, 970 coming back negative and 47 pending results. South Peninsula Hospital has given 947 tests, with six coming back positive, 898 coming back negative and 43 pending results.
The 412 cases identified among Alaska residents are from at least 32 different communities across the state.
In the Anchorage Municipality, 184 are from Anchorage, seven are from Chugiak, 13 are from Eagle River and three are from Girdwood. Of those, 18 are active and 185 have recovered. Four Anchorage residents have died after contracting the disease.
In the Kenai Peninsula Borough there are 27 total cases: Two are from Anchor Point, one is from Fritz Creek, four are from Homer, six are from Kenai, three are from Seward, six are from Soldotna, three are from Sterling and two are from an unspecified community or communities within the borough.
Communities with a population of 1,000 people or fewer are included in the case count for their borough or census area but are not specifically listed. Both of the Anchor Point residents who contracted the disease have died; one was a man in his 30s who died while out of state, and the other was a man in his 80s who died while being treated at South Peninsula Hospital. There are four active cases on the peninsula, and 21 of the cases have since recovered.
Kodiak has one case, and is the only community in the Kodiak Island Borough with a confirmed case. That case is recovered and no longer active.
In the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Fairbanks has 66 cases, North Pole has 18 and there is one additional case in an unspecified community. Of those, one Fairbanks resident and one North Pole resident have died and one Fairbanks case is still active.
In the Southeast Fairbanks Census area, Delta Junction has one case and Tok has two. One of the Tok cases is still active, but the other Tok case and the Delta Junction case have since recovered.
In the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, there is one case in an unspecified community. That case is no longer active.
In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Palmer has nine cases, Wasilla has 14 and Willow has one. One Wasilla resident has died, Four of the cases in this borough are still active, and the rest have recovered.
In the Nome Census Area, Nome has reported three cases. Two of those cases are still active.
In the Northwest Arctic Borough, two cases have been reported in an unspecified community or communities. One of those cases has recovered, and one is still active.
In the Juneau City and Borough, one case has been reported in Douglas and 30 cases have been reported in Juneau. The Douglas case is still active, as are two of the Juneau cases.
In the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, 16 cases have been identified in Ketchikan residents. None of those cases are currently active.
In the Petersburg Borough, Petersburg has four cases. One of those residents has died, while the other three have recovered.
In the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Craig has reported two cases. Both of those cases have recovered.
In the Sitka City and Borough, Sitka has reported two cases. One is active, and the other has recovered.
In the Bethel Census Area, Bethel has reported one case, and two additional cases are from an unspecified community or communities. The Bethel resident has since recovered, and the other two cases are still active.
There has been one case reported in an unspecified community in the region that includes Bristol Bay and the Lake and Peninsula Borough. That case is still active.
Data for this report was taken from the Geographic Distribution of Cases on Alaska’s Coronavirus Response Hub. Data is updated daily by 12 p.m. and reflects information collected between midnight and 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
Reach reporter Brian Mazurek at bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com
