No new COVID-19 cases in Mat-Su schools since Monday

MAT-SU — After a bumpy start to the reopening of Mat-Su Borough School District schools to in-person instruction for students, MSBSD has not reported any new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last four days.

Machetanz Elementary was the first to close to prevent the spread of infection, reporting two cases on Aug. 27. On Aug. 31, Colony High School, Colony Middle School and nearby Pioneer Peak Elementary were closed due to positive cases. Pioneer Peak reopened to students for in-person instruction on Thursday, while both CHS and CMS will remain closed until Sept. 8. MSBSD Public Information Officer Jillian Morrissey reported that two positives each were identified at CHS and CMS while only one positive was identified at Pioneer Peak. No new positives have been reported in MSBSD schools since Monday.

On Friday, Alaska reported 129 new cases in total, with 121 among residents. Alaska has had 6,469 total positive cases of COVID-19 with 5,586 among residents. A total of 4,134 active cases remain in the state of Alaska and 381,937 COVID-19 tests have been conducted. Of the 237 people that have been hospitalized in Alaska since the beginning of the pandemic, 40 have died and 40 are currently hospitalized.

In the Mat-su, 14 people in total have been hospitalized and two are currently hospitalized. Of the 129 new cases statewide, nine were attributed to the Mat-Su Valley. The Mat-Su has reported 509 total cases of COVID-19, with 495 of those among residents. Of those 509 total cases, 304 remain active and two Mat-Su residents have died. A total of 1.13 percent of the 23,206 total tests conducted have returned a positive result.