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Alaska reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday over the weekend as hospitalizations continued to rise, approaching levels not seen since the state’s worst increase in hospital admissions last winter.
As of Sunday evening, 123 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide – an increase from 116 on Friday, 110 last Wednesday and around 100 for most of the previous week.
The most confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations reported by the state at any time were 151 on December 8.
One difference between now and last winter is that the state’s healthcare system is burdened with hospitalizations unrelated to COVID, exhausted staff and significant staff shortages, health officials said.
More than half of the state’s current coronavirus-related hospitalizations were concentrated in Anchorage, state data showed. Statewide, COVID-19 patients accounted for about 13% of all hospitalizations, and 12 patients were sick enough to be on ventilators.
Administrators continue to report that the latest increase in hospitalizations has involved patients typically younger and sicker than in previous increases, and that the state’s hospital capacity is under increasing strain.
This is particularly the case in Anchorage, where only three staffed intensive care unit beds remained open on Monday.
“We continue to manage, but the pressure is not easing and there is no sign of relief for the foreseeable future,” Jared Kosin, president of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, said Monday.
The high number of cases continued over the weekend, with 1,063 cases reported in the past three days, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services scorecard which was updated on Monday. That tally included 372 new cases on Saturday, 398 on Sunday and 293 on Monday.
Alaska’s latest wave was almost entirely due to the delta coronavirus variant – which accounted for about 97% of recently sequenced cases, according to a state report. Epidemiologists say the variant is about twice as contagious as the original strain, which means it can spread faster, even among people who have been vaccinated.
State health officials continue to encourage more Alaskans to get vaccinated, calling the vaccine the best tool to fight the latest wave and prevent serious illness from the virus. Recent research cited by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that while “groundbreaking” cases among vaccinated people can and do occur, vaccinated people are about eight times less likely to contract COVID. -19 and 25 times less likely to be hospitalized. or die from the disease.
The Food and Drug Administration last week authorized vaccine boosters for some immunocompromised people, including those who have received solid organ transplants. and others whose immune systems are also weakened.
As of Monday, 49.4% of all Alaskans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 44.4% of the general population were considered fully vaccinated. Among the only eligible Alaskans aged 12 and over, these percentages were higher: 59.3% had received a dose and 53.3% had completed their vaccination series.
Of all the tests done in the past week, 6.97% were positive. Epidemiologists have said that a positivity rate above 5% is of concern, as it indicates higher transmission and insufficient detection of the virus.
The CDC said anyone with even mild symptoms of COVID-19 – as well as anyone in close contact with someone who tests positive – should get tested, regardless of their vaccination status.
A new test site in Anchorage at the Alaska Airlines Center opened last week in response to increased demand for testing in the municipality. This site will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. An existing experimentation site at the Loussac Library also extended its hours this week; they are now open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Anchorage residents can visit anchoragecovidtest.org to find a free test site near them.
In Alaska, 395 residents and eight non-residents have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic hit the state last spring.
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