Alaska reported 357 new coronavirus infections and no COVID-related deaths from Saturday to Monday, according to the Department of Health and Social Services. The state no longer updates its coronavirus panel on weekends and instead includes that data in Monday’s report.
This month, Alaska became the first state in the country to open vaccine eligibility to anyone aged 16 and over who lives or works in the state. You can now visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to register for a vaccination appointment; new appointments are added regularly. 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.
On Monday, 223,367 people – about 37% of Alaskan residents eligible for an injection – received at least the first dose, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. At least 151,362 people – about 25% of Alaskans aged 16 and over – were considered fully vaccinated.
Although Alaska case and hospital counts remain well below what they were during the peak in November and December, the overall decline in cases has slowed in recent weeks, and five regions of the state are still in the highest alert category based on their current rate of infection rate per capita.
Public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to monitor personal virus mitigation efforts, such as washing their hands, wearing masks, socializing and testing if they are symptomatic or exposed to someone with COVID-19.
As of Monday, there were 40 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, far below the peak in late 2020, but with an upward trend over the past few weeks. Another four patients had pending test results.
Of the 349 cases identified among Alaskan residents since Friday, there were 132 in Anchorage, 68 in Wasilla, 26 in Fairbanks, 18 in Palmer, 15 in Eagle River, 10 in Delta Junction, seven in Chugiak, six in Valdez, four in the North Pole, three in Soldotna, two in Kodiak, two in Nikiski, two in Nome, two in Utqiagvik, one in Big Lake, one in Cordova, one in Girdwood, one in Juneau, one in Kenai, one in Ketchikan, one in Petersburg and one in Unalaska.
Among communities with fewer than 1,000 residents who were not appointed to protect privacy, there were 26 in the Bethel census area, eight in Bristol Bay plus the lake and peninsula area, four in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood, two in the area of the Kusilvak census, two in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area, one in the Nome census area, one in the northwest arctic district and one in the southeastern Fairbanks census area.
Eight new cases of non-residents were also identified: seven in Anchorage and one in Prudhoe Bay.
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.
The average percentage of positive daily tests in the last week was 2.43%.