Alaska COVID-19 count jumps to 9 cases, with patients in Anchorage, Seward

This highly magnified, digitally colorized transmission electron microscopic image reveals details of a single Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV. It’s a relative of the novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. (Public domain image courtesy National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Alaska health officials confirmed three new cases of the coronavirus in the state Wednesday, bringing the total count to nine.

Two of the new cases were in Anchorage and one was 75 miles south in the Kenai Peninsula town of Seward. All were travel-related — two were in people who’d been in the Lower 48 and another was in a person who had traveled to Europe, said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink.

The patients in Anchorage were described as “older individuals,” while the Seward case was described as “younger,” Zink said. None of the patients are hospitalized.

The state also reported 400 negative tests midday Wednesday.

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