Alaska on Friday reports 648 COVID-19 cases over 2 days

• Alaska on Friday reported 645 cases of COVID-19 among residents and three among nonresidents over a two-day period.

• By Friday, there were 58 COVID-positive patients hospitalized statewide, down slightly from 62 hospitalizations as of Wednesday.

• The state reports COVID-related deaths only on Wednesdays. Since the pandemic began, a total of 1,158 Alaskans and 33 nonresidents have died from the virus.

• Alaska’s seven-day new case rate per 100,000 is currently the third-highest in the nation, according to a CDC tracker. Alaska’s omicron wave began and peaked a few weeks behind other states, but has been on a steep downward trajectory in recent weeks.

• The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week eased its guidelines on masks to focus on hospitalization metrics as a measure for when masks are advised. According to the CDC’s updated community risk levels map, most of Alaska is currently “medium” risk, which means many healthy adults may no longer need to wear masks. More info on community levels is available on the agency’s website.

• As of Friday, 63.9% of eligible Alaskans had completed their primary vaccine series.