The past few weeks have seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases across Alaska, but it is important to keep the statistics in perspective.
Both Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state’s chief medical officer Anne Zink said Alaska would see increased case counts as the state began to reopen last month. That has happened, but the state remains in a solid position in terms of hospital beds, PPE and available ventilators. Testing capacity has also increased, which means more cases are being identified.
As of June 11, Alaska had just 17 people in the hospital due to COVID-19. Here are a few other figures:
- 112 ICU beds (out of 198) are still available
- 320 ventilators (out of 348) are still available
- 805 inpatient beds (out of 1,800) are still available
Since May 5, Alaska has reported one death associated with the virus, which brings the statewide total to 11. The latest death occurred at Providence Transitional Care Center in Anchorage.
With an overall population of 731,500 residents, Alaska seen 610 total coronavirus cases with 397 of those fully recovered since March 3. That leaves 202 cases still active. More than 69,000 tests have been given so far.
