Saturday’s count set the single-day record of the pandemic as the state reported 604 cases, nearly all of whom are residents.
Health
Gov. Dunleavy extends Alaska’s emergency declaration, urges Alaskans to change behavior
The governor urged Alaskans to change their behavior to slow the recent rapid growth of the disease in the state. But he rejected calls from the medical community for a statewide mask mandate.
City says new machine should improve turnaround times for COVID-19 testing in Juneau
The Juneau Assembly approved $700,000 in CARES Act money for testing equipment in June. But with the machines in high demand all over the world, the city expected to have to wait until 2021.
LISTEN: Alaska’s first Zoom trial of pandemic ends in guilty verdicts over 2001 rape
In Alaska’s first felony jury trial of the pandemic, a Kenai jury found Carmen Perzechino guilty of kidnapping and rape 19 years after he attacked a woman in his van along the Sterling Highway.
Juneau Assembly lines up final CARES Act programs ahead of deadline
Three big programs are competing for what remains of the city’s CARES Act money: direct payments, business grants and housing and utility assistance.
Legislative leaders call on Gov. Dunleavy to call special session to extend disaster declaration
In a letter earlier this week, Anchorage Republican Senate President Cathy Giessel and Dillingham independent House Speaker Bryce Edgmon asked Dunleavy to either call the session or to appeal to legislators to hold one.
Hit hardest by COVID-19, Alaska’s Pacific Islanders face alarming rates of severe illness and death
Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians are nearly 30 times more likely to be hospitalized and 12 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than Alaska’s white population, according to state data.
State says delayed unemployment payments to begin Friday
Alaskans who received at least $100 in unemployment benefits from Aug. 1 through Sept. 5 are eligible.
‘I hope someone can help us’: Anchorage decision to resume in-person school faces growing scrutiny
The school district faces questions about whether Nov. 16 is the right time to bring students into school buildings, with widespread virus transmission and public health resources already strained.
Hospitals bring the ballot bedside
Each election, a Central Peninsula Hospital staff member picks up and delivers ballots for those who can’t vote in person.