First coronavirus case in Alaska confirmed

ANCHORAGE — Alaska has its first positive case of coronavirus.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy made the announcement during a press conference late Thursday afternoon with Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska Regional Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer Keri Gardner, and Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum.

“It was just a matter of time,” Dunleavy said. “There is no reason to panic, no reason to get upset.”

Zink said a man tested positive. The man is not an Alaska resident, but traveled to Alaska through the Ted Stevens International Airport, and has been in Alaska for less than 48 hours.

Zink did not want to bring the spotlight and possible scrutiny onto the individual, but instead praised him for following the protocols that have been set up and being educated about the symptoms of coronavirus.

“My heart goes out to this individual as they are suddenly here and getting this news and information far away from loved ones and family as we’re working closely to make sure that they are supported,” said Zink. “This is not someone who’s been wandering through the community. This is not someone who’s been shopping at the mall. This is not someone who was going out to eat. This is someone who very quickly isolated themselves and identified themselves.”

Zink noted that with the various ways of detecting a positive case of COVID 19, she was relieved that it had not been transmitted within the community and instead had been quickly identified by an international traveler transiting through the state.

As of March 12, 52 negatives have come back from the state lab and an additional seven samples have come back negative when tested through commercial labs.

Dunleavy said that safety protocols have been stood up for nearly three months and that he and his administration regularly communicate with officials in the Federal Government and the Centers for Disease Control.

“This is not unusual given what’s happening and with this pandemic and so we do have our first case identified of the COVID 19 virus coronavirus,” said Dunleavy. “We’re going to have more cases as time goes on and again I believe that Alaska is equipped. We’re geared up to be able to deal with this situation.”

Gardner said that she did not know of any person who had been exposed at the hospital as a result of testing the individual who eventually tested positive for COVID 19.

“We’ve been preparing for this day for a long time. We were hoping we would never see it but as we are seeing it we need to assess the situation and adjust as we need,” said Zink. “We’re testing all day, all night, they’re kind of running around the clock.”

Dunleavy said that medication for the novel coronavirus may be available within months and a vaccine could be developed within the year.

Despite the somber tone of the news that COVID 19 had finally made its way to Alaska, Zink was cheerful that the individual had been responsible about getting tested.

“There was not any significant concern that we had that this person had exposed anyone else in the state of Alaska. They did an amazing job,” said Zink. “If we feel like the location or details needs to be explained because that’s for the health and benefit of Alaskans, we will get that information out.”