Tuesday’s figures followed the low 126 cases on Monday, part of a trend of fewer cases reported in recent weeks, after an increase in November through early December. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also declining. Health officials say a reduction order in Anchorage played a role in the decline, as did voluntary actions taken by people across the state.
Death is an indicator of delay, which means that it often happens after an increase in cases, and half of the deaths from Alaskan viruses have been reported in the past six weeks.
The new death reported on Tuesday was of an Anchorage resident, state data showed. In total, 200 Alaskan people and a non-resident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic started here in March. Alaska’s overall death rate per capita is among the lowest in the country, but officials say the state’s vast geography and vulnerable health system make comparison with other states difficult.
Alaska received its first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine in mid-December. Hospital health workers, emergency personnel and residents and employees in long-term care facilities were prioritized to receive the first doses. A state committee will vote on Tuesday who will include in the next round of vaccines.
On Tuesday, 72 Alaskans with COVID-19 were hospitalized and another nine were suspected of having the virus. Almost 9% of adults in Alaskan hospitals have COVID-19.
Hospitalizations have declined across the state in recent weeks. In Anchorage, where the sickest patients are often treated, on Tuesday there were 18 beds in the intensive care unit available in 68.
Of the 210 infections reported Tuesday in Alaskan residents, there were 64 in Anchorage, two more in Chugiak and 33 in Eagle River; one in Kenai; one at Seward; three in Soldotna; eight in Kodiak; 23 in Fairbanks plus six at the North Pole; two at Delta Junction; one in Tok; one on Big Lake; 13 in Palmer; 28 in Wasilla; one in Utqiagvik; three in Ketchikan; one in Craig; one in Sitka; three at Bethel; and one in Dillingham.
Among communities with fewer than 1,000 unnamed people to protect privacy, there were two in the northern Kenai Borough Peninsula; three in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; one in the Name Census Area; one at North Slope Borough; one in the Northwest Arctic; two in the Bethel Census Area; and four in the Dillingham census area.
There have been seven cases reported in non-residents, including four in Anchorage and three in an unidentified region of the state.
Although people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.
It is not clear how many of the people who tested positive for the virus had symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about a third of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic.
The statewide positivity rate for the test on Tuesday was 4.56% over an average of 7 days. Health experts say that anything above 5% can indicate inadequate testing and potentially widespread transmission in the community. The state peaked at more than 9% test positivity in mid-November.