Alaska reports over 1,100 new COVID infections over last 2 days as case decline continues

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The state of Alaska reported 1,150 new COVID-19 cases over the last two days as Alaska’s rate of new cases continues to drop. Alaska remains the state with the second highest rate of new cases, while Maine has the highest rate in the U.S.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 589 new cases among residents on Wednesday and four nonresident cases, then reported 542 new resident cases and 15 nonresident cases on Friday for a cumulative total of 1,150 cases since the state last reported on Wednesday.

The figures represent a 47% drop in cases from the week of Feb. 4-Feb. 10 compared to the last week. The predominant variant in Alaska remains the omicron variant. The state reports that the omicron variant accounts for 96.1% of all cases in Alaska.

The state reports that there are 95 COVID-19-related hospitalizations statewide, and four patients require the use of ventilators. There are 22 adult intensive care unit beds available statewide, and six available in Anchorage.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been 1,108 Alaska residents and 33 nonresidents whose deaths have been COVID-19-related. The state announced in early February that they would only report new data for COVID-19 deaths on Wednesdays.

Related: Alaska's COVID-19 case count, hospitalizations trending down

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Alaska’s rate of new cases per 100,000 people over the last week at 615.6, which is less than half of the rate of new cases in Maine at 1,784.5. There are two U.S. territories and Palau — a sovereign nation in free association with the U.S. — who all have higher rates of new cases than Alaska.

The state reported increases in the number of vaccines distributed recently, as 70.8% of Alaskans, veterans and military members have received an initial dose of vaccine, representing a 1.3% increase over the last two days. Similarly, 63.6% of eligible recipients have completed their primary vaccination series, which is a 1.5% increase from Wednesday. The number of eligible booster dose recipients increased by only 0.1% to 26.6%.

The state of Alaska as a whole remains at a high alert level, but the Aleutians West Census Area is the only borough or census area in the state that is not at a high alert level. With only three cases over the last week, the Aleutians West Census Area is at a moderate alert level.

Of the 1,150 new COVID-19 cases reported over the last two days, 1,131 of them were identified among Alaska residents of the following communities:

Of the 19 additional nonresident COVID-19 cases reported by the state over the last two days, five were in Fairbanks, four were in Prudhoe Bay, three were in Anchorage, two were in Wasilla, and one each were reported in Eagle River, Kenai, Sitka, and the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area with one location under investigation.

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

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