Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 863 cases and 1 death reported over the weekend

Aug. 10—Alaska's latest coronavirus surge continued over the weekend with 863 new COVID-19 cases and one virus-related death reported over three days, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services dashboard that was updated on Monday.

Daily case counts in Alaska have been on the rise since July, driven mostly by the delta variant, which is about twice as contagious than the original virus. The latest counts includes 319 cases reported Saturday, 355 on Sunday, and 189 on Monday.

The newly reported death involved a man from Anchorage in his 30s. In total, 391 Alaskans and eight nonresidents have died with COVID-19 since the pandemic reached the state last spring.

As cases rise, officials in Anchorage say local testing sites have experienced long lines recently, and that some sites have added additional lanes to accommodate the increased demand. Anchorage residents can visit anchoragecovidtest.org to find a free testing site near them.

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations remained high over the weekend. By Monday, there were 102 people hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alaska, including 12 on ventilators. Hospitals continue to report being very full, and say their patients are generally younger and sicker than they were during previous surges.

During Alaska's worst peak in COVID-19 hospitalizations last winter, there were about 150 people hospitalized with the virus across the state.

Health officials continue to urge Alaskans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves and others.

Between January and the end of July, 94% of the state's COVID-19 hospitalizations and 97% of deaths have been among Alaskans who are unvaccinated.

By Monday, 48.6% of all Alaskans had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 43.9% of the entire population was considered fully vaccinated. Among only eligible Alaskans 12 and older, those percentages were higher: 58.5% had received one dose, and 52.8% had completed their vaccination series.

The state health department said last week that even fully vaccinated Alaskans in communities with high COVID-19 transmission should consider masking up again in public, indoor spaces. That recommendation was in line with recent guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of all the tests conducted over the past week, 6.41% were positive. Epidemiologists have said a positivity rate over 5% is a cause for concern, because it points to higher transmission and not enough virus detection.

The CDC also says that anyone with even mild COVID-19 symptoms — including a fever or chills, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, a headache, new loss of taste or smell, a sore throat, a runny nose, nausea, or diarrhea — plus anyone is a close contact of someone who has tested positive should get tested, regardless of vaccination status.

Of the 826 cases reported in Alaska on Monday, there were 364 in Anchorage, 70 in Wasilla, 30 in Juneau, 29 in Eagle River, 29 in Fairbanks, 25 in Homer, 25 in Sitka, 23 in Kenai, 23 in Ketchikan, 21 in Kodiak, 19 in Palmer, 15 in Soldotna, nine in Bethel, seven in Chugiak, seven in Cordova, five in Anchor Point, five in Craig, four in Kotzebue, four in North Pole, four in Wrangell, three in Douglas, three in Sutton-Alpine, five in Utqiaġvik, two in Healy, two in Seward, two in Tok, and one each in Dillingham, Fritz Creek, Haines, Hooper Bay, Houston, Metlakatla, Nikiski, Petersburg, Sterling, Valdez and one unidentified region of the state.

Among smaller communities, there were 13 in the Dillingham Census Area, ten in the Kusilvak Census Area, eight in the Aleutians East Borough, eight in the Kenai Peninsula Borough South, six in the Nome Census Area, six in the Northwest Arctic Borough, five in the Kenai Peninsula Borough North, four in the Bethel Census Area, four in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, three in the Chugach Census Area, three in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough, three in the North Slope Borough, two in the Denali Borough, two in the Prince of Wales and Hyder Census Area, two in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and one in Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula boroughs.

There were 37 nonresident cases also identified: nine in Anchorage, five in Soldotna, three in Palmer, three in Wasilla, two in Fairbanks, two in Kodiak, two in Prudhoe Bay, two in Sitka, one in the Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula Boroughs, one in Cordova, one in Homer, one in Kenai, one in a small community in the Kenai Peninsula South, one in Ketchikan, one in Utqiagvik and two in unidentified regions of the state.