COVID-19 outbreak in Alaska continues with 447 cases, 2 deaths and increase in hospitalizations reported Thursday and Friday

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continued to rise this week as Alaskan health officials predicted the state’s latest wave of the virus would continue based on current trends.

Alaska reported 447 infections, two virus-related deaths and a continued increase in hospitalizations over the past two days on Friday, with much of the state remaining on high alert.

Other states with similar mitigation strategies and vaccination rates – including Missouri, Arkansas and Florida – reach their fall and winter case counts, medical doctor Dr Anne Zink told reporters. Chief of Alaska, on a call Thursday.

In Alaska, “I don’t see any reason to think it’s the top right now,” Zink said. “I think we have a chance to learn from other states and really encourage people to get vaccinated, like today. … We have a chance, but that window is shrinking fast.

As of Friday, about 57% of Alaska’s population aged 12 and over had received at least their first dose of the vaccine, while 52% of all residents aged 12 and over were considered fully vaccinated. Among all the states, Alaska ranked 29th in the country for the most residents vaccinated per capita.

Health officials have said higher vaccination rates – in the order of 70 to 80 percent of the total population – are needed to prevent widespread epidemics, but vaccinations in Alaska have leveled off since the spring.

In Sitka, the worst outbreak the community has suffered since the start of the pandemic continued with 64 more cases reported Thursday and Friday. The average community case rate of just over 8,500 remained among the highest in the country at the county level.

As of Friday, 80 people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized in the state – up from 70 on Wednesday. In the second half of June, this number fluctuated between 10 and 19.

According to a New York Times tracker updated Friday, the 163% increase in hospitalizations in Alaska over the past two weeks was the highest among U.S. states during that time period. Local hospitals say they are feeling the pressure.

“We have been operating at near full capacity for the past 10 days,” said Dr. Michael Bernstein, chief medical officer at Providence Alaska Medical Center.

The surge in hospitalizations, however, remains significantly lower than it was during the state’s worst peak last fall and winter. At its peak, statewide coronavirus hospitalizations hovered around 160, more than double the current number.

The vast majority of hospitalizations in the state are currently in people who are not vaccinated – and tend to be younger than patients seen earlier in the pandemic, Bernstein said.

“We are seeing more patients under the age of 50” in Providence, he said. “And we think it’s because we have higher vaccination rates in the older parts of our population, because they’re more susceptible. But these younger patients still get very sick sometimes. “

The two deaths reported on Friday were recent and involved an Anchorage man in his sixties and a Petersburg man in his sixties. A total of 377 Alaskans and seven non-residents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state last spring.

Alaska’s per capita death rate remains among the lowest in the country, although state size, health care system, and other factors complicate national comparisons.

Health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to get vaccinated against the virus, noting that the vaccines have been shown to be very effective in preventing serious illnesses caused by the virus, including the more contagious variants.

The recent increase in cases can probably be attributed in part to the highly contagious delta variant first identified in India in December and Alaska in May, health officials said. The new strain has been linked to higher hospitalization rates and is considered the most transmissible variant to date.

Of the 427 new resident cases reported Thursday and Friday, there were 137 in Anchorage, 64 in Sitka, 30 in Wasilla, 23 in Juneau, 19 in Fairbanks, 15 in Soldotna, 10 in Eagle River, 10 in Kenai, 10 in Nome, 10 in Seward, seven in Cordova, seven in Kodiak, five in the North Pole, five in Palmer, five in Tok, five in Valdez, four in Chugiak, four in Unalaska, two in Bethel, two in Delta Junction, two in Hooper Bay, and one in Chevak, Douglas, Healy, Sterling and Wrangell.

Of the smaller communities, there were 17 in Bethel EA, 10 in Copper River EA, four in the Southern Borough of the Kenai Peninsula, three in Dillingham EA, three in the Kusilvak Census Area, two in the East Aleutian Borough and one in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Northern Borough of the Kenai Peninsula, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the Borough of the Kodiak Island, the Borough of Matanuska-Susitna, the Arctic Northwest Borough and the Prince Of Wales-Hyder Census Area.

There were 20 cases of non-residents also identified: five in Anchorage, two in Fairbanks, two in Ketchikan, two in Kodiak, two in the Arctic Northwest Borough, two in Unalaska, one in Sitka. , one in Juneau and three in unidentified areas of the state. .

Of all coronavirus tests done in the state over the past week, 5.42% have come back positive.

Note: The health service now updates its coronavirus dashboard on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays excluding holidays.