State health officials reported a record 1,091 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, and while that’s the most cases they’ve ever reported in a single day, that figure doesn’t necessarily represent how many people tested positive on a single day.
High case counts are leading to backlogs in testing and contact tracing, but they’re also leading to backlogs in state reporting.
In Juneau, local emergency planning officials say case counts from the state have been lagging for weeks.
“They’re backed up, they’re playing catch up,” said Emergency Operations Planning Chief Robert Barr when the city had its highest number of cases for one day at the end of August. A state health department spokesperson hasn’t yet responded to questions about how far the state is lagging behind in reporting new cases.