Alaska is reporting nearly a dozen new COVID-19 deaths along with over 600 new cases of the virus. The state Department of Health and Social Services confirmed eleven new coronavirus deaths yesterday, including eight residents and three nonresidents. Officials say the deaths were identified through a death certificate review.
The health department also reported 620 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, including 573 resident cases. Across the Kenai Peninsula, Homer reported 17 cases, Kenai 14, Soldotna 9, Anchor Point 5, Nikiski 5, Seward 3, and Sterling 2. Additionally, there were 47 new nonresident cases identified, including 2 in Kenai.
Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer, said in a Wednesday COVID-19 ECHO:
“It’s a lot of red. We continue to have a lot of cases in the state. Remember that as the full system becomes more busy and more full, cases are delayed in reporting. It takes longer for say a hospital or a clinic to report in that data. It takes longer for tests to turn around. It takes longer for our team to upload that data. We’re all working as fast as we can to make sure it’s as timely and accurate as it can be. But there can be some delays. I think the overall trend is pretty clear. We got a lot of COVID spreading. A lot of places are exposed, particularly all across the state. We’ve seen a 19% increase week over week.”
The current statewide alert level – based on the reported number of cases per 100,000 people over the past 7 days – is high (red) at 447.4. For boroughs and census areas: 26 areas are at the high alert level.
Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases, more Alaskans are choosing to get vaccinated. 60.2% of Alaskans 12 and older have received their first vaccine dose. 54% of Alaskans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. 45.9% of the Kenai Peninsula Region are considered fully vaccinated.