OVERVIEW – 161 new cases | 0 deaths | 49 hospitalizations | Statewide alert level: high | 43.5% of Alaskans vaccinated
TAKE ACTION – Choosing to get vaccinated is the single most important action you can take to protect yourself and your community and to reopen our economy. Until more people are vaccinated and case rates are lower in Alaska, take precautions including wearing a mask, staying six feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Learn more at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html.
VACCINATIONS – 49.8% of Alaskans age 16 and older have received at least their first vaccine dose.
43.5% of Alaskans 16 and older have been fully vaccinated. The higher the vaccination rate, the more protected community members are from COVID-19. See below for percentages of all fully vaccinated Alaskans age 16 and older by region:
- Other Southeast Region – Northern: 63.5%
- Juneau Region: 60.8%
- YK-Delta Region: 59.7%
- Northwest Region: 50.1%
- Other Southeast Region – Southern: 47.7%
- Anchorage Region: 46.6%
- Southwest Region: 44.9%
- Other Interior Region: 44.6%
- Kenai Peninsula Region: 37.6%
- Fairbanks North Star Borough: 35.1%
- Matanuska-Susitna Region: 29.4%
For more information about vaccines, visit covidvax.alaska.gov.
CASES – DHSS today announced 161 new people identified with COVID-19 in Alaska. 158 were residents in: Anchorage (49), Fairbanks (34), Wasilla (20), North Pole (16), Palmer (9), Eagle River (6), Soldotna (4), Fairbanks North Star Borough (2), Ketchikan (2), Kodiak (2), Kusilvak Census Area (2), and one each in Aleutians East Borough, Bethel Census Area, Chevak, Delta Junction, Houston, Juneau, Kenai, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Seward, Sterling, Unalaska and Utqiaġvik.
Three new nonresident cases were identified in:
- Juneau: one with purpose under investigation
- Wasilla: one with purpose under investigation
- Location under investigation: one with purpose under investigation
Eight resident cases were added to and one nonresident case was subtracted from the dashboard due to data verification procedures bringing the total number of Alaska resident cases to 65,266 and the total number of nonresident cases to 2,736.
HOSPITALIZATIONS & DEATHS – There have been a total of 1,482 resident hospitalizations and 341 resident deaths, with six new hospitalizations and no new resident deaths reported yesterday.
There are currently 49 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who are hospitalized and five additional patients who are considered persons under investigation (PUI) for a total of 54 current COVID-related hospitalizations. Six of these patients are on ventilators. The percentage of patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is 4.6%.
TESTING – A total of 2,091,352 tests have been conducted, with 28,112 tests conducted in the previous seven days. The average percentage of daily positive tests for the previous seven days is 2.8%.
Variant situation summary
- The B.1.1.7 variant has been introduced into Alaska at least 20 different times, mostly in the Anchorage/Mat-Su region, but also in Southeast and Interior Alaska.
- Community transmission has occurred following several introductions of B.1.1.7.
- Given that B.1.1.7 has become the dominant variant in the United States, it is unsurprising that it has been repeatedly imported into Alaska.
- There is no evidence at this time that community transmission of the P.1 variant is occurring in Alaska.
For the week of April 18-24, the following variants of concern were identified in Alaska cases based on the week of specimen collection:
B.1.1.7 variant (UK)
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Anchorage/Eagle River, acquired through travel
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Anchorage/Eagle River, community acquisition
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Anchorage/Eagle River, community acquisition
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Juneau, acquisition under investigation
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Fairbanks, acquired through travel
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Fairbanks, acquired through travel
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Fairbanks, community acquisition
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Fairbanks, secondary acquisition
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Fairbanks, acquisition could not be determined
- Week of April 4-10, Wasilla, secondary acquisition
- Week of April 4-10, Anchorage, acquired through travel
- Week of April 11-17, Wasilla, acquired through travel
P.1 variant (Brazil)
- Week of March 28 – April 3, Southwest region, acquired through travel
Through April 24, the total number of B.1.1.7 (UK) cases is 31; P.1 (Brazil) cases is 9; and B.1.351 (South Africa) cases is 1. The full weekly genomic surveillance report is posted online at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/id/Pages/COVID-19/variants.aspx.
ALERT LEVELS – The current statewide alert level, based on the average daily case rate over 14 days per 100,000, is high at 21.28 cases per 100,000. Seven regions of Alaska are in high alert status with widespread community transmission. Three regions are at intermediate alert status with moderate transmission and one region is at low alert with minimal transmission.
High (>10 cases/100,000)
- Fairbanks North Star Borough: 47.05 cases per 100,000
- Matanuska-Susitna Region: 33.88 cases per 100,000
- Kenai Peninsula Borough: 17.94 cases per 100,000
- Other Interior Region: 17.21 cases per 100,000
- Other Southeast Region – Southern: 15.9 cases per 100,000
- Anchorage Municipality: 15.42 cases per 100,000
- YK-Delta Region: 14.59 cases per 100,000
Intermediate (>4.8-10 cases/100,000)
- Northwest Region: 7.37 cases per 100,000
- Juneau City and Borough: 6.97 cases per 100,000
- Other Southeast Region – Northern: 6.3 cases per 100,000
Low (0-4.8 cases/100,000)
- Southwest Region: 4.54 cases per 100,000
