DHSS today announced four deaths and 37 new people identified with COVID-19 in Alaska. 34 are residents in 12 communities: Anchorage (15), Fairbanks (4), Wasilla (4), Utqiaġvik (3), and one each in Eagle River, Juneau, Kenai, Ketchikan, Nome Census Area, Northwest Arctic Borough, Palmer and Soldotna.
Three nonresident cases were reported in:
- Nome Census Area: 1 visitor
- Unalaska: 1 with purpose under investigation
- Ketchikan: 1 with purpose under investigation
One duplicate resident case has been removed and two new nonresident cases from earlier in August have been added bringing the total number of Alaska resident cases to 4,843 and the total number of nonresident cases to 823. The current statewide alert level, based on the average daily case rate for the past 14 days, is intermediate.
Of the 34 Alaska residents, 18 are male and 16 are female. Five are aged 10-19; three are aged 20-29; eight are aged 30-39; eight are aged 40-49; four are aged 50-59; five are aged 60-69 and one is aged 70-79.
There have been a total of 205 hospitalizations and 36 deaths with three new hospitalizations and four new deaths reported yesterday. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the individuals who died. Two of the deaths occurred recently:
- A male Anchorage resident in his 70s
- A female Anchorage resident in her 60s
Two of the deaths were identified during a routine review of death certificates:
- A male Anchorage resident in his 80s died in mid-July
- A female Anchorage resident in her 80s died in early August
The status of underlying conditions for individuals who died will no longer be reported out individually, however, that data will now be compiled and included in DHSS’ weekly COVID-19 summary. By compiling this data we will be able to give more detailed information about underlying health conditions and keep Alaskans informed about the risk factors involved in cases of serious illness. More information about people who are at increased risk, and what extra precautions they should take, can be found here: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/.
There are currently 40 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are hospitalized and six additional patients who are considered persons under investigation (PUI) for a total of 46 current COVID-related hospitalizations. Individuals who no longer require isolation (recovered cases) total 1,779.
A total of 333,831 tests have been conducted, with 12,740 tests conducted in the previous seven days. The average percentage of daily positive tests for the previous seven days is 1.74%.
Notes: This report reflects data from 12 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on August 24 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
