The deaths involved residents of Anchorage and Fairbanks, according to preliminary state data.
In total, 227 Alaskans and a non-resident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March. Alaska’s per capita mortality rate is among the lowest in the country, although the size of the state and the vulnerable health system complicate national comparisons.
On Thursday, 65 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Alaska and another 10 patients were suspected of having the virus, according to the state health department. Hospitalizations have declined dramatically since high numbers were recorded in November and early December.
The state’s daily case counts have also dropped significantly in recent weeks, but the statewide alert level is still high.
Vaccines arrived in Alaska in mid-December. As of Wednesday’s most recent update, 35,383 people had received their first dose of the vaccine with 7,965 having received the two doses required for the vaccine to be fully effective, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel.
State officials said this week that the state had allocated the vaccine received for December and January, but there are still consultations and major clinics taking place in the coming days and weeks.
For more information, the public can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 and leave a message. A recording says that calls will be returned in the order they were received within 48 hours, but users report greater delays.
Of the 333 new cases reported on Thursday among Alaskan residents, there were 110 in Anchorage plus three in Chugiak, 12 in Eagle River and two in Girdwood; 42 in Fairbanks and seven at the North Pole; two on Big Lake, 23 on Palmer and 28 on Wasilla; 12 at Bethel; one in Homer, two in Kenai, five in Soldotna and two in Sterling; six at Juneau; three in Kodiak; three in Unalaska; two in Nome; two in Utqiagvik; one in Ketchikan; one in Petersburg; one in Córdoba; and one in Valdez.
Among communities with fewer than 1,000 unnamed people to protect privacy, there were 21 in the North Slope neighborhood; 12 in the Bethel Census Area; nine in the Kusilvak Census Area; three at Fairbanks North Star Borough; three in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area; two of each on the northern and southern Kenai Peninsula; two in the Copper River Census Area; two in the Nome Census Area; two in the Northwest Arctic Borough; one in the Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula neighborhoods; and one in the Kodiak Island neighborhood.
Eight cases were reported Thursday among non-residents, including three in Anchorage and five in unidentified regions of the state.
Although people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state 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.
The positivity rate for the test across the state on Thursday was 3.68% over an average of seven days. Health officials say anything above 5% could indicate inadequate testing and widespread transmission in the community. The state reached a peak of positivity of more than 9% in November.