Mat-Su ICU beds full, according to state data

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise statewide, the Mat-Su is seeing a sharper increase than much of the rest of Alaska.

According to data from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the rate of COVID-19 in the borough nearly tripled to more than 600 per 100,000 residents by the first week of September.   Since then, the Mat-Su has seen case numbers over one hundred almost every day.

The rise in cases is also reflected in hospital statistics.  According to the state’s data dashboard, all intensive-care beds in the Mat-Su were occupied as of Friday.  In addition, more than a third of all those hospitalized had COVID-19.  In total, more than 2,000 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alaska, and 444 have died.  Sixty-two of those deaths were in the Mat-Su.  

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services says, among those hospitalized with the disease in July, the not fully vaccinated outnumbered the vaccinated by nearly eight times.  The department continues to encourage vaccination against the virus that causes COVID-19 as the best means to slow the disease.