Statewide total COVID cases decrease statewide, increase in the Mat-Su

According to the weekly update from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the Mat-Su saw the largest increase in COVID-19 cases per-capita across the state last week.

Statewide, total case rates per 100,000 continue to gradually decline.  This week’s report shows about eighteen total cases per 100,000 Alaskans, which is down from nineteen last week.  Last week did see an increase in new cases of eleven percent, however. Meanwhile, per-capita case counts in the Mat-Su increased by about fifty percent between February 7^th and 13^th.  The Valley’s rate of cases is about double that of the statewide average, and the Mat-Su has the second highest case rate in Alaska, with only the Yukon-Kuskokwim region having more.

Statewide news on transmission rates is also positive.  On average, each person infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 is giving it to less than one other person.  If that trend continues, case counts will continue to fall.

Vaccination numbers around the state also continue to rise.  As of Tuesday, almost 130,000 Alaskans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about half of those have completed both doses.  The state recently expanded vaccine eligibility to people fifty-years-old and older who have certain health conditions, work in essential jobs that require interaction with the public, education workers, and most people living or working in certain types of congregate living facilities.  Alaskans who were eligible in previous stages, including those 65 and older, remain eligible to receive a state-supplied vaccine.