Alaska’s COVID-19 data shows 25% rise in cases reported to state since last week

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The variety of new COVID-19 instances in Alaska rose by greater than 25% this week in comparison with final, although hospitalizations declined barely. Listed below are a number of important takeaways from the most recent knowledge out there from the state Division of Well being and Social Providers:

• By Wednesday, there have been 45 COVID-positive sufferers hospitalized round Alaska, a slight lower from the 49 reported by the state per week earlier and much under peak numbers earlier within the pandemic. Just below 4% of Alaska’s hospital sufferers have been COVID-positive. One required a ventilator.

• The state well being division on Wednesday reported 2,872 instances in Alaska over a seven-day interval, a 26% improve from 2,268 instances reported final week. This week’s complete consists of 2,226 instances amongst residents — up from 1,775 final week — and averages out to only over 410 instances per day. That knowledge represents reported instances and never at-home exams, however can present a way of broader case developments, officers say.

• Well being officers have mentioned an increase in customer instances primarily displays the arrival of vacationer season. Most of the instances contain cruise ship passengers, however the state can also be seeing a rise in nonresident instances exterior ports in Southeast Alaska, and from industries in addition to tourism.

• Alaska’s seven-day new case charge per 100,000 individuals fell from tenth to fifteenth highest within the nation this week, in line with a CDC tracker. Nationally, instances have begun to fall once more after rising by means of a lot of April and Might.

• The areas with the very best seven-day case charges included the North Slope Borough, Bethel Census Space, Copper River Census Space, Aleutians East Borough, Skagway Municipality, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Wrangell Metropolis and Borough, and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Space — all at greater than 400 instances per 100,000 individuals.

• The state reported no new deaths linked to the virus. In complete, 1,252 COVID-19 deaths amongst residents and 34 amongst nonresidents have been reported since March 2020. Most of the deaths reported by the state in latest weeks occurred weeks to months earlier.

• In keeping with Alaska’s coronavirus variant dashboard, the overwhelming majority of probably the most lately sequenced viruses have been the BA.2 omicron subvariant, which seems extra transmissible than different variants however no more virulent or higher at evading immune responses conferred by vaccination or prior an infection. However about 6.4% of the instances have been one other new omicron subvariant — BA.2.12.1 — that now makes up a majority of Decrease 48 counts. In Alaska, this knowledge is a delayed reflection of what’s occurring locally due to the prolonged strategy of labs sending samples to the state to be sequenced, officers say.

• As of Wednesday, 65.3% of eligible Alaskans in addition to army personnel had accomplished their major vaccine sequence. About 30.9% of eligible Alaskans have been thought-about up-to-date on their vaccinations with at the least one booster.

• The FDA permitted one other Pfizer or Moderna booster shot for these 50 and older, in addition to for sure youthful people with severely compromised immune methods, if it’s been at the least 4 months since their final vaccination. Details about getting a vaccine shot or booster in Alaska is on the market at covidvax.alaska.gov.

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