Alaska on Wednesday reports 1,435 cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths

• Alaska on Wednesday reported 1,423 cases of COVID-19 among residents and 12 among nonresidents over a two-day period.

• By Wednesday, there were 51 COVID-positive patients hospitalized statewide, down slightly from 53 as of Monday.

• Ten additional virus-related deaths were reported by state, involving four people from Fairbanks and one each from Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, the Kusilvak Census Area, the Northwest Arctic Borough and the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area. Three were in their 80s or older, three were in their 70s, two were in their 50s and two were in their 40s. Six were women and four were men.

• The state reports COVID-related deaths only on Wednesdays. Since the pandemic began, 1,168 Alaskans and 33 nonresidents have died from the virus.

[Global COVID deaths top 6 million as omicron wave leaves scars]

• Tuesday’s single-day case count of 1,252 was the highest in nearly a month. A state health department spokeswoman said the spike was driven by a reporting backlog from a major testing site in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region, and that the high number was not a reflection of a surge or current case activity in that region.

• Alaska’s seven-day new case rate per 100,000 is currently the fourth-highest in the nation, according to a CDC tracker. Alaska’s omicron wave began and peaked a few weeks behind other states but has been on a steep downward trajectory in recent weeks.

• As of Wednesday, 64% of eligible Alaskans had completed their primary vaccine series. About 32.6% of Alaska residents age 5 and older are considered up to date on their vaccinations, meaning they’ve received a booster or have completed their vaccine series and are not yet due to receive a booster shot.