COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 346 cases and 1 death reported since Friday

The department no longer updates its dashboard on coronaviruses on weekends or on holidays. Monday’s update includes cases that were said to have been reported over the weekend.

The coronavirus-related death of a 70-year-old Anchorage woman was reported over the weekend. A total of 287 Alaskans and two non-residents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March.

Alaska’s per capita death rate is still among the lowest in the country, but the size of the state and vulnerable health care system complicate national comparisons.

The number of cases in Alaska has declined steadily over the past two months, after peaking in November and early December that strained hospital capacity before stabilizing. Hospitalizations in Alaska are now less than a quarter of what they were during the peak in November and December.

Monday there were 35 people with COVID-19 in hospitals statewide, including five who were on ventilators. Four more patients would have the virus.

The COVID-19 vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. As of Monday, 142,531 people – nearly 20% of Alaska’s total population – had received at least their first vaccine, according to the state’s Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard. This is well above the national average of 13.1%.

Among Alaskans aged 16 and over, just over 25% had received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for people 16 years of age and older, and Moderna has been approved for people 18 years of age and older.

Healthcare workers, nursing home staff and residents were the first priority people to receive the vaccine. Alaskans over 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further expanded the eligibility criteria this month to include educators, people 50 and older with a condition. high-risk health care workers, essential front-line workers aged 50 and over, and people living or working in congregations. settings like shelters and prisons.

Those eligible to receive the vaccine can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to register and confirm their eligibility. 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.

Despite the lower numbers, all but four of Alaska’s regions are still in the highest alert category based on the current per capita infection rate, and public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to follow personal virus mitigation efforts such as hand washing, mask wear, and social distancing. A highly contagious variant of the virus reached Alaska last month.

Of the 311 cases reported Monday among Alaskan residents, there were 74 in Anchorage, plus seven in Eagle River, four in Chugiak and three in Girdwood; 65 in Wasilla; 32 at Fairbanks plus 11 at the North Pole; 22 in Palmer; 18 in Juneau; seven in Ketchikan; seven in Petersburg; four at Bethel; three at Dillingham; three in Soldotna; two in Cordoba; two in Kenai; two in Sitka; one in Big Lake; one at Homer’s; one in Hooper Bay; one in Seward; one in Utqiagvik; and one in Wrangell.

Among communities of less than 1,000 people not named for privacy, 16 cases were reported in the Bethel census area; seven in the Yukon-Koyukuk census region; six in the Kusilvak census area; three in the Denali borough; two in the Matanuska-Susitna district; two in the Northwestern Arctic Borough; one in the Copper River census area; one in the Fairbanks North Star borough; and one in the Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon area.

Thirty-five cases were also identified among non-residents: 24 in Unalaska, three in the Aléoutiennes Est borough; one in Anchorage, two Fairbanks, one in Prudhoe Bay and two in an unidentified part 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.

Of all tests done in the past week, 2.08% came back positive. Officials said a positivity rate above 5% indicates high rates of spread in the community and not enough testing.