Two additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported on the peninsula on Saturday, one in Soldotna and one in Homer, bringing the total number of peninsula cases to seven.
As of Saturday evening, statewide there were 102 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to the website for the Division of Health and Social Services. Nearly half of the state’s confirmed cases, 54, were in the Anchorage area — including Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Girdwood and Eagle River/Chugiak.
The state also reported on its website Saturday that six people are now hospitalized for treatment. One of the new positive cases announced Saturday is a resident of a long-term care facility in Fairbanks, according to a March 28 press release from the Division of Health and Social Services.
On Friday, Alaska announced its first in-state death. A 63-year-old woman, who had underlying health conditions, died at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, according to a Friday press release. The patient was receiving treatment at the hospital for an issue not related to coronavirus, but had tested positive for it earlier this week.
The woman was the second Alaskan to die from the new coronavirus. The first patient was a resident from Southeast Alaska who died March 16 at a health care facility in King County, Washington, after a long stay in the area, a release from the state Department of Health and Social Services said.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Emergency Manager Dan Nelson and Public Health Nurse Tami Marsters both confirmed that the newest positive case for Soldotna is a person based in the Soldotna area, but declined to provide additional information. Marsters was conducting the investigation Saturday evening to determine who the person who tested positive may have contacted. The total number of positive cases for Soldotna residents is now two.
In Homer, the city reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 within the city, bringing the number of Homer residents positive for COVID-19 to two.
The person was tested at the local hospital “earlier this week,” according to a Saturday evening press release from the City of Homer Unified Command.
Public health nurses in Homer are conducting an investigation into contacts the second person who tested positive may have had with others.
