A state and nationwide upward trend in COVID-19 activity has seen spikes in case counts and hospitalizations, but state data indicates the surge hasn’t made a big impact in the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
In Alaska, according to the State Department of Health’s Respiratory Virus Snapshot, COVID-19 cases have risen week over week since Dec. 9. The most recent data, for the week ending Saturday, Jan. 6, shows 536 weekly cases of COVID-19 in the state, up from 432 the week before, and 148 when the upward motion started in early December.
According to nationwide data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitalizations attributed to COVID-19 have been rising since Nov. 4, from around 15,000 weekly admissions to 35,000 the last week of December. The weekly number of deaths attributed to COVID-19, similarly, has risen from around 1,200 per week to around 1,600 per week in the same window.
Alaska-specific hospitalization data from the CDC says that 34 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the week ending Dec. 30.
Kenai Peninsula Borough specific hospitalization and death data hasn’t been available since the department discontinued its Alaska COVID-19 Data Hub on Sept. 12.
According to the snapshot, while COVID-19 activity has risen in the Kenai Peninsula Borough since November, it hasn’t reached the rates seen in September, while other regions described on the snapshot, like Anchorage, Juneau and Northwest Alaska, are seeing far greater rates of activity.
Regional case rates are described as the number of cases reported per 100,000 residents — Kenai’s case rate as of Jan. 6 is 33.9, while Anchorage is 90.7, Juneau is 62.9 and northwest is 184.3.
For more information about COVID-19 in Alaska, visit doh.alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
