The state of Alaska reported 57 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday — 53 resident cases and four nonresident cases.
The Kenai Peninsula, with 209 total cumulative cases and 112 active cases, saw no increase in cases of illness caused by the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, according to data on the state’s coronavirus response hub website.
More than half of the new cases reported Wednesday are from Anchorage, which has 31 new cases. There are three new cases in Eagle River, one in the “other” category for the Kodiak Island Borough, three in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, six in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, two in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, three in the Mat-Su Valley, one in Juneau, two in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, and one in the Kusilvak Census Area. There were no new cases reported on the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday.
Cases reported each day by noon reflect the cases reported to the state the previous day.
Of the four new nonresident cases, three are in Anchorage and one is unknown.
The state now has a total of 1,631 cumulative resident cases of COVID-19 and 325 cases in nonresidents, the majority of whom are seafood industry workers.
As of Wednesday, 669 people have recovered from the disease, while the state now has 945 active cases.
There have been a total of 17 deaths of Alaskans associated with COVID-19, and a cumulative total of 96 hospitalizations. That number includes people who have since died or who have since gotten better and gone home. As of Wednesday, 32 people were being actively hospitalized for either confirmed cases of the disease or suspected cases.
The breakdown of cases on the Kenai Peninsula is as follows: 45 cases in Homer, 38 in Seward, 38 in Soldotna, 34 in Kenai, 28 in the “other south” category used for communities on the southern peninsula with populations of less than 1,000 people, nine in Anchor Point, five in Nikiski, six in Sterling and three each in Fritz Creek and the “other north” category.
According to the state’s website, Alaska had conducted 156,093 COVID-19 tests as of Wednesday, for a three-day rolling positivity rate of 1.6%.
South Peninsula Hospital has conducted 5,192 total tests, according to Public Information Officer Derotha Ferraro. Of those, 5, 024 have come back negative and 86 are pending. The hospital has had a total of 82 positive tests results since the start of the pandemic.
Central Peninsula Hospital has conducted a total of 2,599 tests, according to Public Information Officer Bruce Richards. Of those, there have been 2,466 negative tests, 36 positive tests and 95 tests that are pending results.
Testing
The NTC Community Clinic in Ninilchik is providing testing for COVID-19. The NTC Community Clinic is the Indian Health Service provider for the Ninilchik Tribe. The clinic is providing testing with a rapid test machine to those with symptoms, travelers and asymptomatic people. There are currently no restrictions on who can get tested. To make an appointment to be tested at the NTC Community Clinic, call 907-567-3970.
Other southern Kenai Peninsula testing sites are at South Peninsula Hospital and at SVT Health and Wellness Clinics in Anchor Point, Homer and Seldovia. Call ahead at the hospital at 907-235-0235 and at the SVT clinics at 907-226-2228. Testing hours at South Peninsula Hospital are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
Testing is also available on the central Kenai Peninsula at Capstone Family Clinic, K-Beach Medical, Soldotna Professional Pharmacy, Central Peninsula Urgent Care, Peninsula Community Health Services, Urgent Care of Soldotna, the Kenai Public Health Center and Odyssey Family Practice. Call Kenai Public Health at 907-335-3400 for information on testing criteria for each location.
Reach Megan Pacer at mpacer@homernews.com.
