Alaska reported 300 new infections and no COVID-19-related deaths on Saturday, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Saturday’s case count is part of a slight increase in cases in the past few days, following a trend of lower cases reported in recent weeks. State health officials have expressed cautious optimism about the overall decline, but they also fear that travel and holiday-related celebrations may increase the number of cases again.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations remain lower than in November. The number of tests completed across the state in recent weeks has also declined.
In total, 214 Alaskans and a non-resident with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic began. (Nine of resident deaths were reported on Friday, although only one has occurred recently.) Alaska’s overall per capita death rate is among the lowest in the country, but officials say the state’s vast geography and vulnerable health systems make it difficult to compare with other states.
The state promised more than 60,000 doses when Alaska received its first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine in mid-December, and hospital staff, emergency personnel and residents and staff at long-term care facilities were prioritized to receive the first doses. State officials said they expected more than 50,000 doses to arrive this month and on Thursday announced that the next group of people qualified to receive the vaccine would include Alaskans over 65, followed by “essential frontline workers” .
As of Saturday morning, 13,772 Alaskans had received the vaccines, according to the state’s vaccine panel, which had not been updated since mid-week. Health officials say they expect the rate of distribution of the vaccine to increase next month and that the vaccine panel will also be updated more regularly soon.
Across the state, 71 Alaskans with COVID-19 were hospitalized on Thursday and six others were suspected of having the virus. Just over 8% of adults in Alaskan hospitals have COVID-19. In Anchorage, where the sickest patients are usually treated, there were only 10 intensive care unit beds available in 69.
Of the 298 infections reported on Saturday among Alaskan residents, there were 92 in Anchorage, another 20 in Eagle River and five in Chugiak; 47 in Fairbanks plus seven at the North Pole; 21 in Wasilla and 12 in Palmer; nine in Soldotna, five in Kenai, two in Homer and two in Sterling; eight in Juneau; seven in Utqiagvik; five in Kodiak; five at Bethel; two in Nome; one in Kotzebue; and one in Unalaska.
Among communities with fewer than 1,000 unnamed people to protect privacy, there were 20 in the Bethel Census Area; 11 in the Kusilvak census area; five in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; four in the Dillingham census area; two in the south of the Kenai Borough Peninsula; one at Fairbanks North Star Borough; one in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood; one in the Name Census Area; one in the Northwest Arctic; and one in the Yakutat region plus Hoonah Angoon.
There were also two cases reported among non-residents in Unalaska.
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 Saturday was 5.22% over an average of seven 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.