The person who died was a woman living in the North Pole in her 40s, state health officials said. In total, 260 Alaskans and two non-residents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March. Alaska’s per capita death rate is still among the lowest in the country, but the size of the state and the vulnerable health system complicate national comparisons.
Thursday’s case count continues a downward trend in the number of infections, after a peak in November and early December, which caused concern about the hospital’s capacity. For two days this week, the daily case count dropped to double digits for the first time since September.
The reduced community transmission of COVID-19 has allowed commanders to terminate a public health emergency at the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base since November, starting at 5 am on Friday. Authorities also credited “maintained medical capacity and sufficient testing capacity,” according to a statement on Thursday.
The Anchorage base will transition to a less restrictive condition that allows visitors to return, private meetings of up to three family groups indoors and five family groups outdoors, and changed indoor and outdoor meeting limits for a maximum of 25 people .
Many mitigation measures remain in place, including Department of Defense mask directives, physical distance, sanitation and hygiene practices, officials said. Commanders will also continue to use flexible, shift-based schedules and maximize telework when possible.
Despite the declining number of cases in general, Alaska remains in the highest alert category based on its current rate of infection per capita. And case numbers remain high and rising in western Alaska, where some villages have experienced significant outbreaks.
In a seven-day period ended last Friday, the highest average daily increase in cases was seen in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, from 136.3 to 155.8, according to a weekly state summary. A minor increase was seen in Juneau, from 7.8 to 11.8.
On Thursday, most of the state remained on high alert. The Kenai Peninsula district, the city and district of Juneau and the southeastern northern region were at an intermediate alert level, while the southeastern southern region fell to a low alert level.
Hospitalizations also continued to fall, and are now less than a third from where they were during the state’s peak in November and December. As of Thursday, there were 41 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, and one patient suspected of having the virus. Five COVID-positive patients were on ventilators.
Health professionals, nursing teams and residents were the first people to receive vaccination. In early January, the state said adults over 65 were now eligible, although the hours available were limited and filled quickly.
For more information about vaccination appointments, visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 for help making an appointment.
Of the 178 cases reported among Alaskan residents on Thursday, there were 44 in Anchorage, plus one in Chugiak and three in Eagle River; three in Homer, two in Kenai, two in Seward and one in Soldotna; one in Kodiak; one in Córdoba; 19 in Fairbanks and six at the North Pole; one in Big Lake, one in Sutton-Alpine, 13 in Wasilla and one in Willow; one in Douglas and one in Juneau; two in Ketchikan; one in Sitka; five in Unalaska; and eight at Bethel.
Among communities with populations under 1,000 unnamed to protect privacy, there was one in Fairbanks North Star Borough, four in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area, one in North Slope Borough, one in the Yakutat region plus Hoonah-Angoon, six in Aleutians East Borough, 38 in the Bethel census area, four in the Dillingham census area and six in the Kusilvak census area.
Six non-residents also tested positive: one in Anchorage, one in Fairbanks, one in Aleutians East Borough and three in Unalaska.
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.
Last week, 2.87% of all tests completed across the state were positive.