Alaska logged 447 new cases of COVID-19 in at least 37 communities and one new death by Saturday.
440 of the new cases are among residents and more than half are from Anchorage. The city has 229 new cases. Other spots with double-digit increases include Fairbanks with 35, the Bethel and surrounding area with 33, Kenai with 20, Chevak with 14, Wasilla with 12, Juneau and Soldotna with 10.
Seven new non-resident cases were identified, three in Anchorage, one in Dillingham, one in the Bristol Bay and Lake and Peninsula boroughs, one in Fairbanks and another whose location isn’t known.
So far, 15,274 Alaskans and 1,081 non-residents in the state have tested positive for COVID-19. Most of those people have recovered, but 82 people have died. The latest death was a man from Anchorage who was in his 70s.
Right now, 94 people diagnosed with COVID-19 or waiting on test results are in the hospital, six of them are on ventilators.
Anchorage is hitting its inpatient and ICU bed capacity and Interior Alaska has just six inpatient beds available. However, these numbers tend to fluctuate wildly. That’s, in part, because the state’s dashboard displays available beds based on the number of medical providers available to staff them.
Because of the volume of cases that are coming in, the state is lagging behind in getting the information out. According to a media release, it can take a day or two to get a report entered and counted. The Department of Health and Social Services expects daily case counts to remain at this level or higher, according to the release.
