Alaska inmate dies with COVID-19; cases still on the rise ahead of the holidays

Juneau Airport COVID-19 test
A public health worker in a tent outside Juneau International Airport bags a freshly collected nasal swab for COVID-19 testing on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)

Alaska added almost 1,200 new COVID-19 cases this weekend. On Saturday, 676 people tested positive for the disease, and on Sunday, another 523. Officials say those numbers underestimate true case counts by up to 50% because there is not enough staff to enter all of the positive cases into the state database.
At least 101 people have died of COVID-19 in the state. That count does not include an inmate at the Goose Creek Correctional Center at Point MacKenzie who died of COVID-19 on Sunday morning. The 69-year-old is the first inmate in the state to die of COVID-19, according to the Department of Corrections. He was transported from Goose Creek to an Anchorage hospital two days before his death. The coronavirus outbreak at Goose Creek has infected more than 200 people at last count.

The week’s case numbers mark the eighth straight week of rising COVID numbers in Alaska as health officials warn about the potential for increased spread over the Thanksgiving Holidays.

At a Friday press conference, Anchorage Health Department Director Heather Harris said that Alaskans should avoid large gatherings for Thanksgiving.

“The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving this year is to celebrate it with people in your household,” she said. “As we saw from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] this week, they are recommending postponing traveling.”

Those who do celebrate with people outside of their household should take measures to mitigate spread, said Harris. Guests can maintain social distancing during the meal, wear masks and open windows for better air circulation. Harris said she knows the decisions are difficult.

“I am just imploring the community to make decisions — hard decisions that we recognize that it’s hard to not gather, especially during this holiday season, given the level of transmission that we have,” she said.

Officials warn that with current rates of transmission and hospitalizations, Alaska’s hospital capacity could fill up in just over a month.

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