The department no longer updates its coronavirus panel over the weekend or holidays. Monday’s update includes cases that would have been reported over the weekend.
The coronavirus-related death of an Anchorage woman in her 70s was reported over the weekend. In total, 287 Alaskans and two non-residents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March.
Alaska’s per capita mortality rate is still among the lowest in the country, but the size of the state and the vulnerable health system complicate national comparisons.
Alaska’s case count has steadily declined over the past two months, after a peak in November and early December that affected the hospital’s capacity before stabilizing. Alaska hospitalizations are now less than a quarter of what they were during the peak in November and December.
On Monday, there were 35 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, including five that were on fans. Another four patients were considered to have the virus.
The COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Alaska in mid-December. On Monday, 142,531 people – nearly 20% of Alaska’s total population – received at least their first vaccine injection, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. This is well above the national average of 13.1%.
Among Alaskans aged 16 and over, just over 25% received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use in people aged 16 and over, and Moderna has been approved for use in people aged 18 and over.
Health professionals and employees of nursing homes and residents were the first people prioritized to receive the vaccine. Alaskans over 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further expanded the eligibility criteria this month to include educators, people aged 50 and over with a high-risk medical condition, essential frontline workers aged 50 and over and people living or working together in settings such as shelters and prisons.
Those eligible to receive the vaccine can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to apply and confirm eligibility. The telephone line is open from 9 am to 6:30 pm during the week and from 9 am to 4:30 pm on weekends.
Despite the lowercase numbers, all regions of Alaska, except four, are still in the highest alert category based on the current rate of infection per capita, and public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to monitor personal virus mitigation efforts, such as washing hands, wearing a mask, and social distance. A highly contagious variant of the virus arrived in Alaska last month.
Of the 311 cases reported among Alaskan residents on Monday, there were 74 in Anchorage, another seven in Eagle River, four in Chugiak and three in Girdwood; 65 in Wasilla; 32 in Fairbanks plus 11 at the North Pole; 22 in Palmer; 18 in Juneau; seven in Ketchikan; seven in Petersburg; four at Bethel; three at Dillingham; three in Soldotna; two in Córdoba; two in Kenai; two in Sitka; one on Big Lake; one in Homer; one in Hooper Bay; one at Seward; one in Utqiagvik; and one in Wrangell.
Among communities with populations under 1,000 unidentified to protect privacy, there were 16 cases reported in the Bethel Census Area; seven in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area; six in the Kusilvak Census Area; three at Denali Borough; two in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood; two in the Northwest Arctic Borough; one in the Copper River Census Area; one at Fairbanks North Star Borough; and one in the Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon region.
Thirty-five cases were also identified among non-residents: 24 in Unalaska, three in the eastern neighborhood of Aleutas; one in Anchorage, two Fairbanks, one in Prudhoe Bay and two 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.
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.
Of all tests carried out last week, 2.08% were positive. The authorities said that a positivity rate above 5% indicates high rates of dissemination in the community and not enough tests.