138 new COVID-19 cases reported Tuesday

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 138 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday, eight of which were among nonresidents.

The state reported no additional deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, leaving the total number of Alaska residents whose deaths have been related to the virus at 347. A total of six nonresidents have died with COVID-19 while in Alaska.

The 130 new Alaska resident cases reported Tuesday were identified among residents of the following communities:

Fairbanks: 40
Wasilla: 24
North Pole: 20
Anchorage: 19
Fairbanks North Star Borough: 11
Palmer: 5
Ketchikan: 2
Kenai: 2
Chugiak: 1
Homer: 1
Delta Junction: 1
Big Lake: 1
Nome: 1
Utqiagvik: 1
Juneau: 1

The state also reported eight new COVID-19 cases among nonresidents on Tuesday — one in Anchorage, four in Fairbanks, one in Wasilla and two in unknown parts of the state.

There are 40 people currently being hospitalized for COVID-19 statewide, according to state data, along with two people being hospitalized for suspected cases. Since the pandemic started, more than 1,400 Alaskans have been hospitalized for the virus.

More than 49% of all eligible Alaskans age 16 and older have gotten one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 42.5% are fully vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring dashboard. The Anchorage region is trending slightly higher than the state as a whole, with nearly 53% of eligible residents having gotten one dose of a vaccine and 45.5% fully vaccinated.

The Municipality of Skagway, Petersburg Borough and Nome Census Area are regions with the three highest rates of first-dose vaccination in the state. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough ranks second to last with 33.6% of its eligible populating having gotten an initial dose of vaccine, according to the dashboard.

Alaska has conducted more than 2.07 million COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began and has an average seven-day positivity rate of 2.8%.

Alaska’s statewide alert level is still high, based on the average daily rate of cases per 100,000 of population.