Cases are starting to come down in Alaska after weeks of record-setting COVID-19 infections across the state.
After averaging almost 1,250 new cases a day Sept. 21-27 — far above the numbers of the previous record of last December — the statewide average was just over 800 a day Oct. 5-11, according to the state’s COVID-19 data dashboard.
That’s still significantly above the average of the past three months, when 560 new cases a day were reported. Alaska had low case counts in May, June and July, until infections increased with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
The Delta variant was responsible for about 99% of new infections across Alaska in August and September, according to the state health department.
September’s surge of new cases maxed out Alaska’s largest hospitals, prompting the state to commit $87 million in federal funds to bring as many as 470 health care personnel to help out for up to 90 days.
The state also last month activated emergency protocols that allow most hospitals to ration care and make treatment decisions in individual cases if they lack sufficient staff or resources to fully handle the workload.
As of Tuesday, Wrangell officials reported just two new cases since Oct. 1, as the community is doing better at containing the spread of the Coronavirus than many others in the state.
Juneau reported 86 new cases last weekend, with the schools reporting eight COVID-19 infections which resulted in students from an entire class going into quarantine and most of two other classes also being quarantined.
Angoon, population about 500 on northern Admiralty Island, reported 29 active Coronavirus cases as of the weekend, its largest outbreak since the pandemic tally started in March 2020.
Mayor Doris Williams said the majority of positive cases were linked to close contacts. “It’s basically the five families, and they’re all friends, and they all get together, go camping together, do everything together,” she said, as reported by Sitka public radio station KCAW on Monday.
Williams told the station she suspects there may be more people in town who are positive for the virus but have yet to get tested.
“As of now, there’s a bunch of them that are quarantined because they want to keep people safe. Then there’s some that are out and about, and I only know that because people are calling me telling me,” she said. “There are a few that are really doing good and really staying to themselves, but there are a few that are not listening.”
Petersburg announced seven new COVID cases over the past weekend. “There is concern for significant community spread, especially from inside gatherings where people have not been masking or observing distancing to avoid spread of COVID-19,” the Petersburg Medical Center reported in a press release on Monday.
Ketchikan health officials reported 11 more cases over the weekend, with two people hospitalized. Officials reported 55 active cases as of Monday.
Ketchikan has been one of the hardest hit communities in Alaska, according to state data, with almost 1,600 cases, 23 hospitalizations and eight deaths during the pandemic, in a borough of about 14,000 residents.
Statewide, the majority of cases, deaths and hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people. More than one in 10 COVID-19 tests in Alaska are coming back positive, a sign of continuing spread, health officials reported Tuesday.
Alaska led the nation the past couple of weeks for the highest number of new cases per capita.
The state’s vaccination rate is among the bottom third in the country, at 63.9% of eligible residents with at least their first dose as of Tuesday. The rate in Wrangell was at 67% as of Tuesday, according to the state, up from 62% at the end of July.
Almost 600 people have died from COVID-19 in Alaska, according to state data. The nationwide death total was close to 715,000 as of Tuesday.
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