The central Kenai Peninsula saw growth in the number of new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, while the southern peninsula has stopped experiencing spikes in cases for the time being.
The state reported 40 new resident cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Cases reported each day by noon reflect the cases that were reported to the state the previous day. There are now a total of 1,226 resident cases of COVID-19 in Alaska, and 248 nonresident cases.
For many weeks, the number of people who had recovered in Alaska far outweighed the number of active cases. That changed on July 4, when data on the state’s coronavirus response hub website shows active cases surpassed the number of recoveries. As of July 7, state data shows there are 563 recovered people and 646 active cases.
The nine new cases on the Kenai Peninsula are from Kenai (six) and Soldotna (three). The peninsula now has a total of 175 cases, with 86 of them being active. There are 42 cases in Homer, 32 in Seward, 28 in the “Other South” category used for communities in the southern peninsula with populations of less than 1,000 people, 25 in Kenai, 25 in Soldotna, eight in Anchor Point, five in Nikiski, four in Sterling and three each in Fritz Creek and the “Other North” category.
The other new cases reported Wednesday are from Anchorage, which has 17 new cases, one new case in Eagle River, one in Chugiak, one in Cordova, two in Fairbanks, three in North Pole, three in Palmer, one in the Northwest Arctic Borough, one in the Kusilvak Census Area and the first resident case in Unalaska.
As of Wednesday, there were no new deaths reported associated with COVID-19. The state has reported that 17 Alaskans’ deaths have been associated with the disease. There have been 79 total cumulative hospitalizations for confirmed cases of the illness. That number includes people who have since died or since recovered and gone home.
State data on Wednesday showed that 30 people were being actively hospitalized for either confirmed cases of COVID-19 or suspected cases.
As of Wednesday, the state had conducted a total of 133, 401 COVID-19 tests, with a three-day rolling positivity rate of 1.06%.
Testing
Ninilchik: The NTC Community Clinic in Ninilchik is providing testing for COVID-19. The NTC Community Clinic is the Indian Health Service provider for the Ninilchik Tribe. The clinic is providing testing with a rapid test machine to those with symptoms, travelers and asymptomatic people. There are currently no restrictions on who can get tested. To make an appointment to be tested at the NTC Community Clinic, call 907-567-3970.
Southern Kenai Peninsula: Other southern Kenai Peninsula testing sites are at South Peninsula Hospital and at SVT Health and Wellness Clinics in Anchor Point, Homer and Seldovia. Call ahead at the hospital at 907-235-0235 and at the SVT clinics at 907-226-2228. Starting today, the new testing hours at South Peninsula Hospital are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
Central Kenai Peninsula: Testing is available on the Central Peninsula at Capstone Family Clinic, K-Beach Medical, Soldotna Professional Pharmacy, Central Peninsula Urgent Care, Peninsula Community Health Services, Urgent Care of Soldotna, the Kenai Public Health Center and Odyssey Family Practice. Call Kenai Public Health at 907-335-3400 for information on testing criteria for each location.
Reach Megan Pacer at mpacer@homernews.com.
