COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 91 cases and no deaths reported Tuesday

Although the number of cases and hospitalizations in Alaska remain well below what they were during the peak of November and December, the overall decline in cases has stabilized in recent weeks, and many areas of the state are still in the alert category with the highest infection rate per capita.

Public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to follow personal virus mitigation efforts such as hand washing, wearing masks, social distancing, and testing if they are symptomatic or exposed to someone with COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, there were 32 people with COVID-19 in hospitals statewide, well below a peak at the end of 2020. Five more patients had test results pending.

The COVID-19 vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. Tuesday, 171,749 people – about a quarter of Alaska’s total population – had received at least their first vaccine, according to the state’s Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard. This is above the national average of 18%. At least 119,631 people had received both doses of the vaccine.

Visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to book an appointment for a vaccine. The telephone line is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.

90s cases identified among Alaskan residents on Tuesday, there were 23 in Anchorage plus three in Chugiak and two in Eagle River; one at Homer’s; one in Kenai; one in Soldotna; five in Fairbanks; one at the North Pole; five to Palmer; 22 in Wasilla; two to Willow; two in Utqiagvik; one in Juneau; two in Petersburg; and two at Bethel.

Of the communities of less than 1,000 people not named to protect personal privacy, there were three in the Copper River Census Area; one in the southeast Fairbanks census area; and 11 in the Bethel census area.

There was also a new non-resident case in Kotzebue.

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.