The latest score follows a month’s decline in cases. Alaska experienced an increase in infections in November and early December that limited the capacity of the hospital. For the first time since September, the daily number of cases doubled last week.
Despite the small numbers during January, Alaska is still in the highest alert category, based on the current per capita infection rate, and public health officials are urging Alaskans to continue efforts to mitigate the virus, such as hand washing, wearing masks. and social distance.
Hospitalizations have coincided with cases and are now less than a third of the places where they were during the peak in November and December. By Thursday, there were 41 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state. It is believed that two more patients have the virus, and ten patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The COVID-19 vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. By Thursday, 99,814 – nearly 14% of Alaska’s total population – had received at least their first vaccine shot, according to the state vaccine monitoring panel. This is well above the national average of 8.2%.
Healthcare workers and nursing home staff and residents were the first people to receive the vaccine. In early January, the state said Alaskans over the age of 65 are now eligible, although appointment slots are limited and quickly filled.
Thousands of new vaccine appointments were made available on the state’s website last week, many of which are still available. Elderly and other eligible health care professionals can call 907-646-3322 for help making an appointment.
Of the 158 cases announced Thursday among Alaska residents, 31 were in Anchorage plus two in Chugiak and two in Eagle River; one in Kenai; 16 in Fairbanks plus four in the North Pole; 14 in Palmer; 18 in Wasilla; one in Nome; one in Douglas; three in Juneau; two in Ketchikan; one in Petersburg; one in Sitka; one in Unalaska; nine in Bethel; and one in Dillingham.
Among communities with a population below 1,000 not named for privacy, there were two in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; one in the Noordhellingstad; 28 in the Bethel census area; two in the Dillingham census area; and 17 in the Kusilvak census area.
There were also 26 cases among non-residents in Anchorage, including 23 in the Aleutians East census area, two in Unalaska and one 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.
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.