Alaska continued to see more cases of COVID-19 statewide on Wednesday, including 18 new cases concentrated in Southcentral communities, according to the state’s health department.

Since March, Alaska has reported 505 cases of COVID-19 among residents, including 122 active cases and 373 people who had recovered from the virus Wednesday.

Several of the recently reported cases stem from an East Anchorage transitional care facility where 23 residents and caregivers had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday.

Additionally, the Kenai Peninsula has continued to see more cases recently, including three members of the Nikiski Fire Service Area, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management said in a statement Wednesday.

The members of the department in quarantine are all part of the same shift, so Central Emergency Services and the Kenai Fire Department will assist the Nikiski fire department, the Office of Emergency Management said, adding that public health officials “confirmed that no patient transports were exposed.” The cases are already reflected in the state’s reported numbers, local officials said.

The positive result was found through testing at the airport, the department said in a statement, and the worker is self-quarantining.

“While confirmation of the first positive cases of COVID-19 in our community is concerning, the parties involved did everything correctly," said Melanee Tiura, CEO of Iliuliuk Family & Health Services Clinic and health care consultant to Unalaska’s Unified Command.

The state is not currently mandating that people wear masks in public, Dunleavy said.