Alaska reports 801 cases of COVID-19 and a new hospitalization record

Alaska reported its second highest daily count of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as statewide hospitalizations of viruses hit a new record for the second day in a row.

According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services scorecard, 801 new coronavirus cases were reported statewide Wednesday. The only time Alaska recorded more cases in one day was on Dec. 4, with 906 cases.

Widespread transmission means it is difficult to identify specific outbreaks, a state epidemiologist said during a public briefing on Wednesday.

“COVID is everywhere,” said Louisa Castrodale, an epidemiologist with the state health department. “Events where there are people very close to other people, this is where we are seeing how the transmission goes. And when there is so much activity, people can have three or four exhibitions … and maybe it’s not clear where their source of COVID was. “

On Wednesday, the Alaska State Asylum and Nursing Home Association reported at least 166 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, higher than at any time during the pandemic, including previous rises. On Tuesday, the state reported 152 hospitalized with COVID-19 and, over the weekend, 151.

Health officials say Alaska hospitals continue to operate under unsustainable stress levels, citing severe staff shortages and the recent influx of COVID-19 patients as causes of considerable capacity problems.

Hospitals report long waiting times in emergencies, sporadic surgery postponements, and an exhausted and exhausted staff.

The most recent hospitalizations of COVID-19 have occurred among people who are not vaccinated. In July, 80% of hospitalizations related to the virus involved people who were not fully vaccinated.

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Four new virus-related deaths of residents were also reported on Wednesday, although the date on which they occurred recently was not immediately known. A total of 435 Alaska and 13 non-residents have died since the pandemic hit Alaska in the spring of 2020.

In Anchorage, amid a rise in cases across the community, there are more firefighters calling for patients with COVID-19, Anchorage Fire Department reported, although details were scarce.

“Our workforce is a cross-section of our community, and the result is an increase in cases for our employees,” said Deputy Chief Alex Boyd. “We have seen an increase in people responding to screaming patients with symptoms and an increase in members performing COVID tests as a result of routine pre-work health screening.”

The department did not respond to how many cases have been reported among staff, nor to how many are currently active and in which fire stations.

An increase in sick leave use time is not having a negative impact on firefighters ’responses and no service has been reduced, Boyd said. The department “benefits from a high labor force vaccination rate among our first respondents,” although the department did not say what the vaccination rate is.

The Anchorage police department does not see an increase in COVID-19 cases or free time between officers affecting operations, Deputy Chief Gerard Asselin said. If that happened, there is a plan to change officers into details like traffic officers and schoolchildren to answer patrol calls, he said.

The department does not track the vaccination rate among officers.

On Wednesday, approximately 61% of Alaska 12 years of age or older had received at least one dose of vaccine and 55% considered themselves completely vaccinated.

Of all the tests performed over the past week, 7.5% returned positive.

Daily News journalist Michelle Theriault Boots contributed.

This is a developing story and will be updated.