Alaska reports 1,150 COVID-19 cases and 95 hospitalizations Friday

Alaska on Friday reported 1,150 cases of COVID-19 over two days as part of an overall decline in the state’s omicron surge.

• The latest numbers included 1,131 cases among residents and another 19 among nonresidents, as well as 95 COVID-positive patients hospitalized statewide — up slightly from 90 hospitalizations as of Wednesday.

• Cases over the last week declined by 47% compared to the week before, state data showed.

• No new deaths were reported Friday. The state now reports COVID-related deaths only on Wednesdays. Since the pandemic began, a total of 1,108 Alaskans and 33 nonresidents have died from the virus.

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• Despite reporting fewer cases week by week, Alaska’s seven-day new case rate is still the second-highest in the nation, behind Maine, according to a CDC tracker. That’s likely because Alaska’s omicron wave began and peaked a few weeks behind other states, Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Alaska’s state epidemiologist, said this week.

• N95 masks — which work particularly well at preventing omicron from spreading between people — are now available for free at many grocery stores, pharmacies and public health centers around the state.

• As of Friday, 63.6% of eligible Alaskans had completed their primary vaccine series. Just 26.6% had received a booster.