Monday’s case count comes at a time when infections have declined in recent weeks. The state had a spike in infections in November and early December, which caused concern about the hospital’s capacity and triggered a “squat” order in Anchorage County.
As of Monday, there were 54 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state and four more patients suspected of having the virus. Eight of these people used ventilators, the state health department said. Hospitalizations are approximately half where they were during the peak in November and December.
In total, 228 Alaskan people and a non-resident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March, including 23 deaths that have been recorded since January 1. Alaska’s per capita mortality rate is among the lowest in the country, although that of the state’s size and vulnerable health system complicates national comparisons.
Despite the reduction in cases, Alaska remains on high alert.
Vaccines arrived in the state in mid-December and on Monday nearly 44,000 people received their first dose, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. Almost 12,000 people received the second dose.
Health professionals, nursing home workers and residents were the first group to receive vaccines. Earlier this month, the state opened vaccines for adults over 65, although hours are limited and run out quickly when the scheduling window opens.
For more information about vaccination appointments, 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 some users have reported longer delays.
Of the 149 cases reported in Alaskan residents on Monday, 49 were in Anchorage and two in the Eagle River; two were in Homer, four in Kenai, one in Nikiski and five in Soldotna; five were in Kodiak; one was in Cordoba; 10 were in Fairbanks and three at the North Pole; one was at Delta Junction; one was in Palmer, 12 in Wasilla and two in Willow; one was in Nome; three were in Utqiagvik; two were at Juneau; one was in Petersburg; one was in Sitka; one was at Wrangell; and three were at Bethel.
Among communities with populations under 1,000 unidentified to protect privacy, there was one in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area; one was in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood; two were in the North Slope neighborhood; 12 were in the northwestern arctic quarter; 12 were in the Bethel Census Area; one was in the Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula neighborhoods; and 10 were in the Kusilvak census area.
Four non-residents tested positive for the virus, including two in Anchorage, one in Nome and one in Juneau.
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 of the test across the state on Monday was 3.41% on 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.