On Sunday, Alaska reported 239 new COVID-19 infections, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
No new deaths were reported on Sunday.
New infections follow a downward trend in cases over the past few weeks. Health officials have expressed cautious optimism about the downward trend, although they are concerned that vacation trips and meetings could lead to another increase in the number of cases.
Alaska had a record number of COVID-19-related cases and deaths in November and early December. The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations has also increased, encouraging Anchorage to move to a modified one-month lowering phase during December, after which fewer infections have been reported. Restaurants and bars faced the greatest restrictions during the isolation phase because indoor dining was banned. The companies were allowed to reopen for dinner from January 1, although with capacity restrictions.
By Sunday, virus-related hospitalizations had stabilized and hospitals across the state were less than 75% full.
Seventy-four people with COVID-19 were in the hospital on Sunday and another 13 people in the hospital were suspected of having the virus, the health department said.
In total, 214 Alaskans and a non-resident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state 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.
Initial doses of the vaccine arrived in Alaska in mid-December and hospital staff, emergency personnel and residents and staff at long-term care facilities were the first groups of people to be vaccinated. Alaskans aged 65 and over will be the next to receive the vaccines, although vaccines are likely to begin later in the month.
Of the 232 new infections reported on Sunday in Alaskan residents, there were 39 in Anchorage, one in Chugiak and six in Eagle River; one was at Seward; two were in Kodiak; one was in Cordoba; eight were in Fairbanks and one at the North Pole; one was in Big Lake, five in Palmer, one in Sutton-Alpine and 27 in Wasilla; four were in Utquagivk; one was in Sitka; and 26 were at Bethel.
Among communities with fewer than 1,000 unnamed people to protect privacy, there were two in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood; one was in the Nome Census Area; one was in the North Slope neighborhood; 84 were in the Bethel Census Area; and 20 were in the Kusilvak Census Area.
Seven non-residents were reported with the virus on Sunday, including one in Anchorage, four in Unalaska and one person with the site under investigation.
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 positivity rate for the test across the state on Sunday was 5.14% 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.