Update — Andrew Kitchenman, KTOO and Alaska Public Media
Most Alaska hospitals and nursing homes have enough personal protection equipment like face masks to cover the next month.
Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink presented data on medical supplies for the first time during a news briefing on Friday.
“The vast majority of the hospitals and long-term care facilities are reporting to us that they have greater than 30 days worth of supplies on hand,” Zink said.
She said the state uses this information to determine where the state should focus its efforts in keeping supplies in stock.
The supplies that the state tracks include gowns, safety goggles, masks and gloves. For example, 16% of Alaska hospitals and long-term care facilities have less than a 30-day supply of surgical masks; 36% have enough for between 30 and 60 days; and 48% have at least 60 days supply.
The state also is keeping track of how quickly health care providers are using their supplies.
“The things that are used the most, that are burned through the most, include gloves — medium gloves — as well as isolation gowns,” Zink said.
Zink added that state health officials are constantly thinking about how to provide supplies that aren’t disposable, and how to help providers get more supplies.
She also said the tight supply of gowns and gloves is loosening.
“I don’t want it to seem like there is ample PPE in the world, but I really want people to see how we’re monitoring this,” she said.
The state also provided more details about one of the new health mandates that went into effect on Friday. It includes removing the requirement that Alaskans stay at home, but it says “every effort must be taken to maintain six-foot social distance from other members of the public.”
The state is allowing public gatherings of up to 20 people. But people must wear face coverings at these gatherings. And venues that hold gatherings must provide hand sanitizer near entrances and cannot offer food or drink.
Restrictions on flying between road-system communities have also been lifted, though restrictions on flying to and from communities outside of the road system is still limited.
Original story — Rashah McChesney, KTOO
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s latest COVID-19 press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m. today.
The governor, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink have been holding these briefings almost daily since March 10.
They’ll be joined by Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Tamika Ledbetter; she’ll be talking about the state’s efforts to address the thousands of Alaskans who have applied for unemployment insurance.
Generally, the Dunleavy administration shares updates on the number of people in the state with confirmed cases, announced public health mandates, and explained the administration’s strategy and rationale.
According to state data, two Anchorage women were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday. Those cases bring the state’s total to 337. One is between the ages of 10-19. The other is between 20 – 29 years old. Thirty-six Alaskans have been hospitalized with the disease, and nine have died.
More than 11,900 tests have been administered — though it is unclear from the state’s data how many individual people have been tested.
Dunleavy, Crum and Zink have imposed public health mandates that have reshaped daily life across Alaska to combat the spread of the virus. Those mandates and other Alaska-specific COVID-19 resources and information are available at coronavirus.alaska.gov.
Today was the first day that some businesses in Alaska have been given the go-ahead to reopen. But some owners are saying that doing it safely is complicated, and they’re taking it slow.
You can watch today’s press conference live on this post, the governor’s Facebook or Livestream pages, or on 360 North television.
