Alaska’s Department of Health and Social Services reported a slight rise in hospitalizations Tuesday, along with 54 new cases of COVID-19 across the state – 40 among residents of nine communities and 14 among nonresidents identified in five communities.
The City of Seward separately reported two new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday evening, and those cases will be included in Wednesday’s report from DHSS.
Tuesday’s report from the state included five new hospitalizations of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, for a total of 92 hospitalizations since the state began tracking the pandemic in March. There are currently 25 people hospitalized who are either positive for COVID-19 or are awaiting test results, and one of those patients is being treated on a ventilator.
At least 22 people have been hospitalized since the beginning of July, according to the data available on the state’s Coronavirus Response Hub.
Six of the resident cases reported by the state Tuesday are residents of the Kenai Peninsula. Five are from Soldotna and one is from Sterling.
In addition, one of the new nonresident cases is a worker in an unknown industry that has been identified in the northern part of the peninsula. The exact community where the nonresident tested positive was not specified, because cases within communities of less than 1,000 people are not individually listed.
Alaska currently has 1,153 active cases of COVID-19 (resident and nonresident), and 126 of those active cases are located on the peninsula.
A total of 149,473 tests have been conducted as of Tuesday, for a three-day average positivity rate of 1.72%. The positivity rate for all tests conducted in Alaska so far is 1.27%.
Locally, Central Peninsula Hospital had conducted 2,555 tests as of Tuesday – 2,429 of those tests have come back negative, 32 were positive, and 94 are pending results.
South Peninsula Hospital has conducted 5,135 tests for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, with 4,955 negative results, 82 positive and 98 pending results.
Kenai Peninsula testing locations
Testing for COVID-19 is available on the Central 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.
In the Seward area, testing is available at Seward Community Health Center, Glacier Family Medicine and the Chugachmiut-North Star Health Clinic.
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. The testing hours at South Peninsula Hospital are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
For more information on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit covid19.alaska.gov or email covidquestions@alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Brian Mazurek at bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com.
