Alaska COVID-19 Count Saturday May 16, 2020 - 4 New Case, 2 New Hospitalizations, 1 New Recovery

The curve is starting to move back up.  After about ten days with increases between zero and three, we've now had 4 new cases three days in a row.  The chart just identifies the locations of three - Anchorage, Bethel, and Kenai.
We've had two days in a row with 2 new  hospitalizations - after a weeks of just a couple of increases.
It's about two weeks now since the governor started loosening the restrictions on businesses.  At that time - May 4 to be exact - we had 370 cases.  I said then that at the pace we were going we'd get to 400 in a week.  But the pace dropped off dramatically and we're only at 392 now.  But if we keep up our 4 a day pace, we'll hit 400 by Monday.

Staying home, masking when going out, and considering how your actions affect others takes a different kind of courage and thinking than we're used to celebrating in the US.


Boot camp is often considered a place where people are tested on their endurance, their ability to withstand hardship over a long period of time.  While there is clearly a mental aspect to it - to break people down so they obey orders immediately without question - the most obvious part is physical. But boot camp - whether entered into voluntarily or through the draft - has an end date.  People know how much longer they have to endure.  There's a strong, authoritarian hierarchy and a peer group that punish you for slacking off.

The Coronavirus is a cagier test of people's endurance and courage.  First, there's no clear end date.  Second, there's no visible danger. (In Alaska this is probably more true than in places like New York City where the effects of the virus are more visible.)  Third, the message from 'leaders' is mixed and confused.  Fourth, enforcement is lax.  The challenge of the virus is mental for most people, who aren't likely to get severely sick or die.  But the isolation rules also are physical, and for the poor, much more taxing than for others.  Of course, for those who require hospitalization, it's very physical.

As I watch those protesting lockdowns with guns on their backs and faces uncovered, I muse about them shooting at the virus.  But it's not the virus they threaten to shoot, but people who ask them to make some sacrifices to save lives.

The same things we say about our military all the time, and about police and fighter fighters.  I hope that when this is over, people start paying much more attention to ways to raise children so that they are both strong as individuals and understanding of how their personal strength has been helped by the community around them and how they owe that community.

The North Vietnamese used to say that they took the long view and could wait out the US which isn't as comfortable with long struggles.  The Taliban are probably saying the same thing.  The virus is a test of self strength and we're seeing people without masks* or carrying guns and protesting their lost freedoms, who are failing that test.

CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES ALASKA MARCH/APRIL/May 2020
Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
new/total	hos=hospital		12th  = 0/0	13th = 1/1	14th = 0/1	15th = 0/1
16th = 0/1	17th = 2/3	18th = 3/6	19th = 3/9	20th = 3/12	21st= 2/14	22nd= 8/22
23rd=14/36	24th =6/42 1 hos 1 dead	25th = 17/59 3 hos 1 dead	26th = 10/69 3 hos 1 dead	27th =16/89 5 hos 2 dead	28th = 13/102 6 hos 2 dead	29th= 12/114 7 hos  3 dead
30th=5/119 7 hos 3 dead	31st= 14/133 9 hos 3 dead
April 2020		1st=  10/143 9 hos 3 dead	2nd=8(6)/149 13 hos 3 dead	3rd=8(11)157 15 hos 3 dead	4th=15/171 16 hos 5 dead	5th= 14/185 20 hos 6 dead
6th=6/191 23 hosp 6 dead	7th= 22/213 23 hosp 6 Dead29 recovered	8th= 13/226 27 hosp 7 dead 32 recovered	9th= 9/235 27 hosp 7 dead 49 recovered	10th=11/246 28 hosp 7 dead 55 recovered	11th=11/257 31 hosp 8 dead 63 recovered	12th= 15/272 31 hosp 8 dead 66 recovered
13th= 5/277 32 Hosp 8 dead 85 Recovered	14th = 8/285 32 Hosp 9 dead 98 Recovered	15th= 8/293 34 Hosp 9 dead 106 Recovered	16th= 7/300 35 hosp 9 dead 110 recovered	17th=  9/309 36 hosp 9 dead 128 recovered	18th =  5/315 36 hos 9 dead 147 Recovered	19th= 4/319 36 hos 9 dead 153Recovered
20th 2/321 36 hos 9 dead 161 recovered	21st 8/329 36 hos 9 dead 168 recovered	22nd  6/335 36 hos  9 dead 196recovered	23nd  2/337 36 hos  9 dead 209recovered	24th  2/339 36 hos  9 dead 208recovered (-1 from 4/23)	25th  0/339 36 hos  9 dead 217recovered	26th  2/341 36 hos  9 dead 217recovered
27th  4/345 37 hos  9 dead 218recovered	28th  6/351 37 hos  9 dead 228 recovered	29th  4/355 36 hos  9 dead 240recovered	30th  0/355 36 hos  9 dead 252recovered
May 2020				1st  9/364 36 hos  9 dead 254recovered	2nd  1/365 36 hos  9 dead 261recovered	3rd  3/368 36 hos  9 dead 262recovered
4th  2/370 37 hos  9 dead 263recovered	5th  1/371 38 hos  9 dead 277 recovered	6th  1/372 38 hos 10 dead 284recovered	7th  2/374 38 hos 10 dead 291recovered	8th  3/377 38 hos 10 dead 305recovered	9th  1/378 38 hos 10 dead 318recovered	10th  1/379 38 hos 10 dead 324recovered
11th  1/381 38 hos 10 dead 328recovered	12th  2/383 38 hos 10 dead 334 recovered	13th  0/383 38 hos 10 dead 335recovered	14th  4/387 39 hos 10 dead 339recovered	15th  4/388 41 hos 10 dead 343recovered	16th  4/392 43 hos 10 dead 344recovered

State Charts

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My Day-By-Day Chart

Today is the first entry on page 3.

Alaska Covid-19 Data NewFor... by Steve on Scribd