The number of cases on Monday follows a month with lower daily figures. Alaska peaked in November and early December, causing concern over hospital capacity. For the first time since September, the daily number of cases double-digited last week.
As infections steadily decline, Acting Mayor of Anchorage Austin Quinn-Davidson announced last week that the city would relax COVID-19 restrictions. A new emergency order is now in effect, allowing more people to enter bars and restaurants, and easing size collection limits.
Despite the January small print, Alaska is still in the top alert category based on the current per capita contamination rate.
The fishing industry has again been hit by multiple outbreaks under ships and processing facilities in the Aleutian Islands. Some facilities are temporarily closed when the winter fishing season started.
Hospital admissions have fallen along with the number of infections and are now less than a third of the peak levels in November and December. On Monday, there were 39 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state. A further four patients were believed to have the virus and 10 patients with COVID-19 were using ventilator.
Health officials are urging Alaskans to continue to take the pandemic seriously, even as the number of cases has fallen. Scientists at the state’s public health labs confirmed last week that a highly contagious variant of the virus reached Alaska last month.
The vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. Monday 95,881 According to the state’s vaccine surveillance dashboard, people – about 13% of Alaska’s population – had gotten at least their first vaccination shot. That is well above the national average of 7.6%.
Health workers and nursing home workers and residents were the first people to be prioritized when receiving the vaccine. In early January, the state said Alaskans over 65 were now eligible, although appointment spots are limited and fill up quickly.
Thousands of new vaccination appointments went live this week on the state’s website, many of which are still available. Seniors and other eligible health professionals can call 907-646-3322 for assistance with booking an appointment in February.
Of the 63 cases announced to Alaskans on Monday, 25 were in Anchorage plus three in Eagle River; one in Kenai; three in Kodiak; three in Fairbanks plus two in North Pole; 10 in Palmer; three in Sutton-Alpine; nine in Wasilla;
Among the communities with a population of less than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there was one in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area; one in the southeastern Fairbanks Census Area; one in the Northwest Arctic Borough; and one in the Bethel Census Area.
Thirty-eight infections were also identified in non-residents in the state, including 15 in the Aleutians East Borough, 11 in Unalaska, and 12 in an unidentified region of the state.
While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state health service represents only one person.
The state’s data does not specify whether people who test positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. The CDC estimates that more than half of infections in the country are transmitted by asymptomatic people.