Based on new local testing data, the COVID-19 positivity rate is significantly higher than the statewide average.
While the COVID-19 case count across Alaska has dropped somewhat from it’s record highs in September, weekly counts since then have remained above 5,500 reported cases. In that same time frame, weekly counts in the Mat-Su Borough have remained above 900.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, KTNA has reported on statewide case rates as well as those in the Mat-Su Borough. What state data lacks, however, is local information specific to the Northern Susitna Valley. The state does not give specific information for communities under 1,000 residents. Even though Willow and Susitna North both now have populations in excess of a thousand people according to 2020 census data, officials at the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services say it will take time to incorporate them.
With COVID-19 testing beginning at Denali Education Center in Talkeetna, however, we now have a way to get some of that data. According to testing staff at DEC, daily positivity rates for the tests they have given ranges from twenty to forty percent. The current seven-day average for the Mat-Su is twenty percent. Statewide, the rate is ten percent. Anything over a five percent positivity rate is considered a sign that not enough tests are being conducted, according to DHSS.
Denali Education Center is ramping up its testing schedule, making appointments available every ten minutes from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Previously, there was a fifteen minute gap between tests. In addition, up to four members of the same household can be tested in a single appointment.
More information on testing and scheduling at DEC can be found at Denali.org or by calling 907-733-7003.
