Alaska reports over 450 COVID-19 cases over the weekend

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska reported more than 450 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend as cases around the state remain on the decline.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 463 new cases — 254 on Friday, 103 on Saturday and 106 on Sunday. Of those, six were nonresident cases. State case data shows a 25% decrease between the week of Feb. 21-Feb. 27 and last week.

There are 53 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, three of whom require ventilators. There are 25 available intensive care unit beds across the state, but just three ICU beds available in Anchorage. There have been a total of 1,191 COVID-19-related deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, 33 of which were among nonresidents.

Early in February, the state announced that it would only report additional COVID-19 deaths on Wednesdays.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rank Alaska third among all states for its rate of new COVID-19 cases per capita. Alaska’s rate of 285 new cases per 100,000 residents over the last week trails only Montana and Idaho, the latter of which leads the nation with a rate of 495.

The state COVID-19 dashboard features a new graphic representing the vaccination status of Alaskans. In a pie chart, the state showed that 35.7% of Alaska residents have no reported vaccinations for COVID-19, and 32.6% of all eligible residents are up to date.

The state variant tracking also shows a slight uptick in sequenced cases of the BA.2 “stealth omicron” variant. The original omicron variant reached its peak on Jan. 16, making up for 96.96% of the total count of collection date by the state. The omicron variant now makes up for 88.37% while stealth omicron has risen to 11.63% of the total count of collection date.

This DHSS graph shows vaccination status of Alaska residents, military and Department of... — This DHSS graph shows vaccination status of Alaska residents, military and Department of Defense personnel.(Photo courtesy Alaska Department of Health and Social Services)

While the state as a whole still has over two times the amount of cases needed to qualify for a high alert level, four boroughs and census areas have dipped below that threshold.

The Southeast Fairbanks Census area has dropped to a substantial alert level, the Wrangell City and Borough has dropped to a moderate alert level, and without any cases in the last week, both the Skagway Municipality and the Aleutians West Census area have dropped to a low alert level.

Of the 463 new COVID-19 cases reported over the weekend, 457 of them were identified among Alaska residents of the following communities:

Copyright 2022 KTUU. All rights reserved.