Alaska reports over 3,800 new COVID cases Friday

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Alaska health department reported over 3,800 new COVID-19 cases Friday in its latest release, reflecting a continued decline in new case counts.

The Department of Health and Social Services reported 3,759 new resident cases — 2,193 were reported Wednesday and 1,566 were reported Thursday — and 71 new nonresident cases, a 27% decrease in new cases over the week of Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 from the previous seven days. Overall, the two-day case count was 3,830.

The total death tally remains at 1,060 Alaskans since the start of the pandemic, according to the state, which said that additional deaths will only be reported on Wednesdays of each week. The number of total nonresident deaths also remained at 33.

Hospitalizations in the state also dropped, going from 151 Alaskans on Wednesday to 128 reported Friday. The department also reported that out of all Alaskans hospitalized, 13.1% of those are COVID-19-related. There are four residents are currently on a ventilator.

In a virtual presentation Wednesday, Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said the omicron variant remains dominant in the state, but said two cases of the newer BA. 2 ‘stealth omicron’ variant — the first two cases in the state — were detected.

Alaska is also still ranked No. 1 among U.S. states in community transmission rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with 1,921.1 cases per 100,000 people, which is more than the second-highest case rate of 1,302.8 recorded in North Dakota. When U.S. territories are included, Alaska trails only Palau and Guam in community transmission, but the number does represent a drop from Wednesday’s reported rate of 2,103.5.

Every census area and borough in the state is at a high alert level, which is defined as when the number of reported cases over the past week per 100,000 residents is over 100 for any single borough or census area.

The state’s vaccination numbers increased only marginally since Wednesday, with 69.2% of all Alaskans plus military members and veterans having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 61.7% have completed their full immunization series, and 25.8% have gotten a booster shot.

Of the 3,830 COVID-19 cases reported by the state over the last two days, 3,759 of them were identified among Alaska residents of the following communities:

• Anchorage: 1,073
• Fairbanks: 364
• Greater Wasilla area: 300
• Nome Census Area: 168
• Greater Palmer area: 144
• Eagle River: 143
• North Pole: 133
• Bethel Census Area: 129
• Juneau: 110
• Ketchikan: 98
• Bethel: 81
• Soldotna: 81
• Kenai: 76
• Nome: 50
• Delta Junction: 46
• Kotzebue: 46
• Homer: 45
• Utqiaġvik: 45
• Northwest Arctic Borough: 42
• Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 41
• Chugiak: 39
• Kodiak: 39
• Kusilvak Census Area: 37
• Sitka: 32
• Chevak: 28
• North Slope Borough: 27
• Metlakatla: 26
• Aleutians East Borough: 24
• Dillingham: 22
• Kenai Peninsula Borough South: 21
• Petersburg: 21
• Seward: 17
• Dillingham Census Area: 14
• Haines: 14
• Kenai Peninsula Borough North: 14
• Valdez: 14
• Cordova: 13
• Fairbanks North Star Borough: 13
• Hooper Bay: 12
• Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: 12
• Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 11
• Anchor Point: 10
• Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula: 10
• Copper River Census Area: 7
• Hoonah-Angoon plus Yakutat: 7
• Nikiski: 7
• Sterling: 6
• Willow: 6
• Houston/Big Lake: 5
• Unalaska: 5
• Craig: 4
• Girdwood: 4
• Kodiak Island Borough: 4
• Aleutians West Census Area: 3
• Matanuska-Susitna Borough: 3
• Tok: 3
• Denali Borough: 2
• Healy: 2
• Sutton-Alpine: 2
• Dutch Harbor: 1
• Ester: 1
• Ketchikan Gateway Borough: 1
• Wrangell: 1

Of the 71 additional nonresident COVID-19 cases reported by the state over the last two days, 15 are in Fairbanks, 12 are in Anchorage and eight are in Dutch Harbor.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the number of Alaska residents whose deaths have been tied to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. The correct number is 1,060.

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