The state stepped up warnings about Alaska’s spike in COVID-19 cases in its weekly summary Tuesday, saying that without more compliance with masking and social distancing, the case count will continue to rise quickly.
“Most nonresident cases have been identified before the person had significant community interaction, so most new cases in Alaskans are acquired from other Alaskans who have not traveled,” the summary said.
The summary underscored the fact that doing activities like going into businesses, attending outdoor barbecues and going to sporting events has become more risky.
During the week of July 12th through 18th alone, Alaska’s total cases rose by a quarter. The state is now seeing community transmission “in almost every business type that involves in-person interaction,” the state summary said.
There were 399 new cases in Alaskans and 104 in nonresidents last week. Six Alaskans were hospitalized. One additional death was reported, for a total of 18.
“Alaskans are acquiring the virus from many types of social gatherings: backyard barbecues, funerals, weddings, children’s sporting events, camps, churches and any time groups gather with others outside their household,” it said.
The majority of new cases are among Alaskans aged 20 – 29, it said. Cases among Alaskans in their 20s and 30s are “rising sharply.”
It noted that “Fairbanks has had very high rates of test positivity, reflecting widespread community transmission.”
“With current rates of physical distancing, face covering use and other measures to prevent transmission, cases are expected to continue to rise rapidly,” it said.
