COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 101 infections, no deaths reported Monday

Monday’s case count follows more than a month of lower daily numbers. Alaska peaked in November and early December that raised concerns about hospital capacity. For the first time since September, the daily number of cases fell into double digits twice last week.

As infections continue to decline steadily, Acting Anchorage Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson announced last week that the city would ease restrictions on COVID-19. A new emergency ordinance is now in effect, which will allow more people to enter bars and restaurants and ease the size limits for gatherings.

Despite the lowest numbers in January, Alaska is still in the highest alert category based on the current per capita infection rate.

The seafood industry has once again been hit with multiple outbreaks among ships and processing facilities in the Aleutian Islands. Some facilities temporarily closed their doors when the winter fishing season began.

Hospitalizations have fallen along with the number of infections and are now less than a third of their level during the peak in November and December. As of Monday, there were 39 people with COVID-19 in hospitals statewide. Four other patients were thought to be carriers of the virus and 10 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Health officials are urging Alaskans to continue taking the pandemic seriously, even as the number of cases has fallen. Scientists at the state’s public health labs confirmed last week that a highly contagious variant of the virus reached Alaska last month.

The vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. Monday, 95881 the people – about 13% of Alaska’s population – had received at least their first vaccine, according to the state’s Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard. This is well above the national average of 7.6%.

Healthcare workers, nursing home staff and residents were the first to receive the vaccine. In early January, the state said Alaskans over the age of 65 were now eligible, although meeting slots were limited and filled up quickly.

Thousands of new vaccine appointments were posted on the state’s website this week, many of which are still available. Seniors and other eligible healthcare workers can call 907-646-3322 for assistance in making an appointment in February.

Of the 63 cases announced Monday among residents of Alaska, there were 25 in Anchorage and three in Eagle River; one in Kenai; three at Kodiak; three at Fairbanks plus two at the North Pole; 10 in Palmer; three in Sutton-Alpine; nine in Wasilla;

Among the communities with less than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there was one in the Valdez-Cordova census area; one in the southeast Fairbanks census area; one in the Northwestern Arctic Borough; and one in the Bethel census area.

Thirty-eight infections have also been identified among non-residents of the state, including 15 in the eastern district of the Aleutians, 11 in Unalaska and 12 in an unidentified region of the state.

While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state’s health department represents only one person.

State data does not specify whether people who test positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the country’s infections are transmitted by asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.