COVID-19 follow-up in Alaska: 89 infections, 1 death reported Tuesday

Tuesday’s case count continues a downward trend in the number of infections after a spike in November and early December that caused officials to worry about the hospital’s capacity. On Monday, the daily number of cases fell into double digits for the first time since September.

Despite the decrease in the number of cases, Alaska remains in the highest alert category based on its current per capita infection rate.

Hospitalizations also continued to decline and are now about a third of what they were during the state’s peak in November and December. As of Tuesday, there were 56 people with COVID-19 in hospitals statewide. Another the patient was suspected of having the virus. Five people positive for COVID were on ventilators.

Health care workers, nursing home staff and residents were the first to get vaccinated. In early January, the state said adults over the age of 65 were now eligible, though date slots were limited and filled up quickly.

New vaccine appointments for the month of February will be posted on the state’s immunization website (covidvax.alaska.gov) starting Thursday at noon.

The number of available appointments will depend on how much vaccine the state receives in February and will be open to adults 65 and older. The new appointments will begin on February 4.

For more information on vaccination appointments, visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 and leave a message. A record says calls will be returned in order of receipt within 48 hours, but some users have reported longer delays. State officials said that from this week, those calls will be answered live.

Of the 86 cases reported Tuesday among Alaskan residents, there were 20 in Anchorage plus one in Chugiak and three in Eagle River; one at Homer’s; one in Seward; one in Soldotna; one in Cordoba; seven in Fairbanks; one at the North Pole; one in Big Lake; four to Palmer; two at Sutton-Alpine; 12 in Wasilla; one in Kotzebue; one in Haines; five in Juneau; two in Unalaska; and four in Bethel.

Among the communities with fewer than 1,000 individuals not named for privacy, there was one in the Nome census area; one in the Prince of Wales and Hyder census region; 11 in the Bethel census area; and five in the Kusilvak census area.

Three cases have been reported in non-residents of Unalaska.

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.

Over the past week, 3.07% of all tests conducted statewide came back positive.