A Fairbanks man in his thirties recently died of COVID-19, according to a Saturday report from health officials. This makes the number of COVID-19-related deaths statewide at 223.
Alaska reported 378 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, 51 of them in Fairbanks, 13 at the North Pole and eight elsewhere in the North Star district of Fairbanks, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Anchorage saw 119 new cases, Wasilla saw 39, Palmer 14 and Kenai 11.
“It can be seen that, overall, they have continued to go down,” Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, said in her video update on Friday. “Still, unfortunately we’re starting to see a bit of a plateau, and in some areas we’re starting to see an increase in cases.”
In the Fairbanks North Star district, the test positivity rate over the past seven days is 6.44%, indicating broad community transmission.
To help curb the virus, health officials continue to encourage citizens to wear masks, keep their distance, and avoid larger meetings than their immediate circle.
As for COVID-19 testing, in addition to recommending those experiencing symptoms and travelers to be made, officials suggest surveillance tests (fortnightly or weekly weekly) for people who regularly interact with people outside. from home, at work or otherwise.
New variant COVID-19
A new, more transmissible variant found in other countries has not been reported in Alaska, but health officials are closely monitoring the situation.
The mutated virus does not lead to more serious diseases, but because of its highly communicable nature, more people are more likely to contract it and, as a result, more people may die, state epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin said during a rally. of Thursday’s press.
Current COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the new variant of the virus, but at some point the virus could mutate to the point that we will need an updated vaccine, McLaughlin explained.
To date, at least 25,085 Alaska have been vaccinated.
Contact staff writer Alena Naiden at 459-7587. Follow her on twitter.com/FDNMlocal.