Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: State reports increase in cases compared with previous week

There were 78 people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Alaska as of Wednesday, according to the state health department. That includes including 11 people with COVID-19 who are on a ventilator.

Here are other highlights from this week’s updated COVID-19 data from the Alaska Department of Health:

• The hospitalizations reported Wednesday were down from the previous week, when 86 people were hospitalized with the virus.

• The state health department reported eight additional COVID-19 deaths among residents that occurred between April and July of this year.

• Five of those deaths were among people in their 80s or older, two were in their 60s and one was in their 40s. Four were residents of Anchorage, two were Fairbanks residents, one was a resident of Wasilla and one was from Ketchikan.

• In Alaska, 2,435 new cases were reported over a seven-day period, an increase from 2,103 cases reported last week. That data doesn’t include at-home tests, which have become increasingly popular but don’t get reported.

• Alaska’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 now ranks 15th highest among U.S. states, according to a CDC tracker.

• Statewide, 67.8% of Alaskans six months and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 28% had received at least one booster shot.

[Your first brush with coronavirus could affect how a fall booster works]