Thursday’s count continues with a trend of sharply declining infection rates over the past month. Infections in Anchorage and Alaska peaked in November and early December, raising concerns about the hospital’s capacity that spurred an order for the Anchorage municipality in December.
As of Thursday, there were 56 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state and two more patients who presumably had the virus. Seven of these patients are on ventilators, and 6.1% of all hospital patients tested positive for COVID-19. Hospitalizations are now less than half of where they were during the peak in November and December.
Vaccines first arrived in the state in December and by Thursday at least 67,173 people had received the first dose, according to the state panel for vaccine monitoring. At least 14,663 people received the second dose. According to a national tracker, Alaska currently has inoculated more residents per capita than any other state.
Healthcare workers and staff and nursing homes and residents were the first group to receive the vaccinations. Earlier this month, the state opened the vaccines to adults over the age of 65, although the appointment slots were limited and filled quickly.
For more information on vaccinations, visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 and leave a message. According to a survey, calls will be returned within 48 hours, but some users have reported longer delays.
Of the 202 cases reported Thursday in Alaska residents, there were 40 in Anchorage plus 11 in Eagle River and one in Girdwood; 22 in Fairbanks; 18 in Wasilla; 15 in Juneau; nine in Palmer; eight in Kenai; eight in Bethel; seven in the North Pole; ses in Unalaska; three in Anchor Point; three in Kodiak; two in Seward; two in Sutton-Alpine; two in Douglas; two in Ketchikan; one in Soldotna; one in Homer; one in Tok; and one in Sitka.
Among communities with a population below 1,000 that were not named for privacy, there were 30 in the Kusilvak census area; three in the Bethel census area; one in the southern district of Kenai Peninsula; one in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area; one in the Matanuska-Susitna district; one in the Northwest Arctic District; one in the census area of the Aleutians East; and one in the Dillingham census area.
One non-resident in an unknown region also tested positive for the virus.
Although people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.
The state’s data does not determine whether people who are positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. According to CDC estimates, more than half of the country’s infections are transmitted by asymptomatic people.
In the past week, 3.53% of all tests completed across the country returned positive.