The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced 203 new COVID-19 cases in Alaska on Thursday, including 16 on the Kenai Peninsula. Affected peninsula communities include Kenai with eight cases, Anchor Point with three cases, Seward with two cases, Homer with one case, Other South with one case and Soldotna with one case.

The new cases bring Alaska’s statewide case total to 52,605, including 50,941 residents and 1,664 nonresidents.

Over the past week, the Kenai Peninsula Borough has conducted 1,009 COVID-19 tests and saw a positivity rate of 1.88%. To date, the borough has conducted 59,222 tests.

As of Thursday, Central Peninsula Hospital had conducted 11,196 tests with 10,442 negative, 725 positive and 13 pending results. CPH was also treating one patient who was COVID-positive on Thursday, with no patients on ventilators and no new positive resident cases at Heritage Place Skilled Nursing facility.

Of the 114,800 doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines the State of Alaska received for the months of December and January, 67,173 initial doses have been administered and 14,663 vaccinations series have been completed. Meaning, 14,663 people have received both doses of their COVID vaccine.

The current statewide alert level, based on the average daily case rate for the last two weeks, is high. The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s rate is also high at 18.85.

The state also reported seven new hospitalizations and one new death. DHSS began including “probable deaths” in the death and case counts on Jan. 4. To date, 1,153 Alaska residents have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 252 have died.

As of Thursday, there were 56 people hospitalized in Alaska who were COVID-positive, and two people hospitalized who are considered persons under investigation for the disease. Seven of the patients were on ventilators.

Alaska’s daily positivity rate for the past week, during which 27,597 tests were conducted, is 3.53%. To date, 1,430,967 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Alaska.

In addition to the 16 new cases on the peninsula, the state also reported 40 cases in Anchorage, 30 cases in Kusilvak Census Area, 22 cases in Fairbanks, 18 cases in Wasilla, 15 cases in Juneau, 11 cases in Eagle River, nine cases in Palmer, eight cases in Bethel, seven cases in North Pole, six cases in Unalaska, three cases in Bethel Census Area, three cases in Kodiak, two cases in Douglas, two cases in Ketchikan, two cases in Sutton-Alpine and one case each in Aleutians East Borough, Dillingham Census Area, Girdwood, Mat-Su Borough, Northwest Arctic Borough, Sitka, Tok and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.

One nonresident case was also reported with a location still under investigation.

Who can receive the COVID-19 vaccine right now?

In determining who is able to get the COVID vaccine and when, the state considers recommendations from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Vaccine allocation is divided into three phases.

Those phases are divided into sub-phases. Those sub-phases are then divided further into tiers. Front-line health care workers, along with residents and staff of long-term care facilities were given first priority in Phase 1a, Tier 1.

Phase 1a, Tier 2 includes front-line EMS and Fire Service personnel frequently exposed to COVID-19 patients, community health aides/practitioners and health care workers providing vaccinations. Vaccinations for people in Phase 1a, Tiers 1 and 2 began on Dec. 15.

Phase 1a, Tier 3 includes workers in health care settings who are at highest risk of contracting COVID-19 and who are essential to the health care infrastructure who meet specific criteria outlined by the state. Vaccinations for people in Phase 1a, Tier 3 began on Jan. 4.

Appointments for people in Phase 1b Tier 1, meaning Alaskans who are 65 and older, began on Jan. 11.

Testing locations on the Kenai Peninsula

On the central peninsula, testing is available at Capstone Family Clinic, K-Beach Medical, Soldotna Professional Pharmacy, Central Peninsula Urgent Care, Peninsula Community Health Services, Urgent Care of Soldotna, the Kenai Public Health Center and Odyssey Family Practice. Call Kenai Public Health at 907-335-3400 for information on testing criteria for each location.

In Homer, testing is available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at the lower level of South Peninsula Hospital’s Specialty Clinic as well as through SVT Health & Wellness clinics in Homer, Seldovia and Anchor Point. Call ahead at the hospital at 907-235-0235 and at the SVT clinics at 907-226-2228.

In Ninilchik, NTC Community Clinic is providing testing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The testing is only for those traveling, symptomatic, needing testing for medical procedures, or with a known exposure after seven days. Only 20 tests will be offered per day. To make an appointment to be tested at the NTC Community Clinic, call 907-567-3970.

In Seward, testing is available at Providence Seward, Seward Community Health Center, Glacier Family Medicine and North Star Health Clinic.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.