Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 383 cases and no deaths reported since Friday

Alaska reported 383 new coronavirus infections between Saturday and Monday, according to the Department of Health and Social Services. The state no longer updates its coronavirus dashboard on the weekend, and instead includes that data in Monday’s report.

No new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported since Friday, when the state reported the death of an Anchorage resident. In total, 302 Alaskans and four nonresidents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic reached the Alaska in March. Alaska’s death rate per capita is still among the lowest in the country, but the state’s size and vulnerable health care system complicate national comparisons.

Alaska this month became the first state in the country to open up vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older who lives or works in the state. You can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to sign up for a vaccine appointment. The phone line is staffed 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.

By Monday, 187,069 people — about 26% of Alaska’s total population, and a third of Alaskans who are 16 and older and therefore eligible for the vaccine — had received at least their first vaccine shot, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring dashboard. That’s above the national average of 21% of the population. At least 128,435 people had received both doses of the vaccine.

Over two-thirds of seniors had received at least one dose, the state’s vaccine dashboard showed.

Although case counts and hospitalizations in Alaska remain far below what they were during the peak in November and December, the overall decline in cases has plateaued in recent weeks, and many regions of the state are still in the highest alert category based on their current per capita rate of infection.

Public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to keep up with personal virus mitigation efforts like hand-washing, mask-wearing, social distancing and getting tested if symptomatic or exposed to someone with COVID-19.

By Monday, there were 32 people with COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the state, far below a peak in late 2020. Another eight patients had test results pending.

Of the 372 cases identified among Alaska residents since Friday, there were 103 in Anchorage, 80 in Wasilla, 24 in Eagle River, 21 in Fairbanks, 18 in Delta Junction, 18 in Palmer, 15 in Chugiak, 10 in Juneau, nine in North Pole, six in Ketchikan, six in Soldotna, five in Homer, five in Kenai, four in Kodiak, four in Petersburg, four in Willow, two in Utqiagvik, one in Anchor Point, one in Big Lake, one in Cordova, one in Girdwood, one in Healy, one in Kotzebue, one in Nome, and one in Seward.

Among smaller communities not named to protect individuals’ privacy, there 17 in the Bethel Census Area, five in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, two in the Northwest Arctic Borough, one in the Copper River Census Area, one in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, one in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, one in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, one in the Kusilvak Census Area, and one in the Mat-Su Borough.

There were also 11 new nonresident cases identified: three in Anchorage, two in the Yakutat plus Hoonah Angoon region, one in Fairbanks, one in Kenai, one in Kodiak, one in Wasilla, one in a smaller Southeast Fairbanks community, and one in an unidentified region of the state.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

The state’s data doesn’t specify whether people testing positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the nation’s infections are transmitted from asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.

Of all the tests conducted statewide over the past week, 2.24% came back positive.

— Annie Berman