In the COVID case count, Wrangell has experienced a total of 19 positive COVID-19 cases with two cases currently active in the community. Those patients is in isolation. The state of Alaska has had 6,790 positive cases to-date including 630 more cases this week. 245 patients in Alaska have been hospitalized to-date with 20 new hospitalizations this week. There have been 42 COVID-19 deaths in Alaska. Three of those deaths occurred over the last week. More information is available at covid19.alaska.gov.

You can also sign up for the state’s case count summary at the same site. Highlights from this week’s summary include the facts:

  1. The largest increase in cases is in Alaskans between the ages of 20-29.
  2. Most Alaskans get the virus from someone they work, socialize, or go to school with.
  3. Many of those diagnosed report going to social events while they were contagious, but before they knew they had the virus.
  4. Many cases in Alaska do not have a clear source, meaning contact tracers have difficulty identifying close contacts. This means there could be cases in our community we don’t know about.

Anyone with even one symptom of COVID-19–fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle aches, body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea–should get tested for COVID-19, even if their symptoms are mild.

The SEARHC COVID-19 hotline is (907) 966-8799. Free community testing is still going on at the SEARHC clinic on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm free for anyone who does not have symptoms. You can get as many tests as you want. The turn around time for results is now about 3 days.

Governor Mike Dunleavy will host a virtual town hall on COVID-19 in Alaska on Thursday at 5:00pm. It will be streamed on the Governor’s Facebook page.

Governor Dunleavy has declared September as Suicide Prevention Month in Alaska. Alaska’s suicide rate is 2x higher than the national rate. Alaska’s suicide hotline, 1 (877) 266-4357 is available 24/7.