UPDATED 4:13 p.m.: The male employee — a Fairbanks resident — tested positive while on leave and is in the care of family. The company reports he has not developed serious symptoms and is in stable condition.

“I had this instructor who just kind of changed my life,” she said. “She made me want to teach and be like her and read literature like her and teach other people how to read literature and be inspired by it and see the humanity in it.”

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is reminding the public to be careful around moose this spring after it received a “higher than normal number of phone calls about moose that are acting aggressively, causing problems or are injured.”

Updated 4:57 p.m.: The department also reported 14 new cases since Saturday. Of those, seven are of residents of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The Fairbanks borough now accounts for 53 of the state’s 185 total cases.

Keeping stores sanitized and supplies on the shelves during a global pandemic has been stressful with long hours, but employees at the Co-op Market Grocery & Deli said it feels good to be acknowledged as essential workers.

“Anytime when I have almost any problem I’m constantly thinking about ways that I can print something to solve it.”

Updated 4:32 p.m.: There are 16 current hospitalizations, the state reported Saturday, including one added in the most recent daily reporting period. A Fairbanks Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said the hospital has one COVID-19 patient.

Local veterinarians are modifying their practices to enable social distancing while still providing care for four-legged family members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Michael Dunleavy announced a number of additional suspensions of certain state government fees and fines as part of the Alaska COVID-19 Economic Stabilization Plan on Friday and also highlighted the availability of the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

A small army of volunteers throughout Interior Alaska is making masks for local residents to wear, hoping to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Updated 6:08 p.m.: This is the first time plans for a field hospital at the Carlson Center have been executed. The site will be on hold until capacity in the COVID-19 ward at the hospital reaches 90%.

“We’re trying to adjust to the situation as quickly as we can and then also making sure we can communicate with all branches of our facility as quickly as we can as well,” Alexander said.

“We really want to keep the N-95 masks and the surgical masks as much as possible for our health care workforce. We’re learning of more and more cases where people have asymptomatic spread. So I think it’s important to remember that the handmade masks are a potential way to have asymptomatic people not spread the virus to other people."

Entries and the $2.50 per ticket cost can be mailed to Nenana Ice Classic, P.O. Box 272, Nenana, AK 99760. Payment can be in the form of money orders, cashiers checks or personal checks.

The disease, she said, is serious and scary. She knows because she just spent two weeks fighting it and feels grateful she recovered. But there is no guarantee she won’t get it again.

The virtual town hall will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 Alaska time.

Those interested in participating will need to pre-register by texting “ALASKA” to #833-898-5483.

Updated 6:39 p.m.: The company will be reducing its operations “to minimize expenses, maintain service to our Essential Air Service communities, and continue flights to the other markets it currently serves with these aircraft.” 

The decision ends the company's service to communities throughout the Interior.

“All in-state travel between communities, whether resident, worker, or visitor, is prohibited unless travel is to support critical infrastructure, or for critical personal needs."

Updated 8:15 p.m: This includes three new cases in Fairbanks, bringing the community total to 30, and two new cases in North Pole, bringing the community total to 10. Additionally, the state has extended two previous health mandates that were set to expire in the coming days.

Updated 7:28 p.m.: Medical officials visited the arena, host to concerts, comedians and the University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey team, Wednesday afternoon for planning, according to Shelley Ebenal, CEO of Foundation Health Partners, which operates Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

 The Fairbanks PFD office is located at 510 2nd Ave. No. 100. For those who would like to file online, the process remains the same. Online applications can be found at www.pfd.alaska.gov/.

Five of the new cases are in Fairbanks. No new deaths have been announced, but nine Alaskans are currently hospitalized due to complications from the disease, according to the state health department.

 “We will be unable to hold graduation ceremonies in their traditional, mass congregational format. Graduations are not canceled; we are just going to need to hold a different type of ceremony.”

“At least half of those patients were patients that came through our door and we didn’t know, and the only reason we found out was because we were actively screening and testing patients,” Carey told the Daily News-Miner.

Her compassionate “I’m serious” approach caught the eye of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and logged 17,000 views in two days, including by Trudeau, members of the Canadian parliament, and others from around the world.

Everyone from sewers to brewers to the University of Alaska itself are stepping up to help out through whatever means possible. 

Some of those new cases have shown up at Fairbanks area health care facilities and Alaska Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink says Fairbanks is a hotspot in the state for the disease.