KETCHIKAN (KDN) — Ketchikan Public Health officials reported 81 local COVID-19 cases between Wednesday and Friday evenings, according to the local dashboard, bringing Ketchikan's count of active cases up to a record high of 195 as of Friday.
Both the public health dashboard and a separate PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center dashboard, which reports the previous day's hospitalizations by 11 a.m. the following day, showed four people were hospitalized as of Friday.
In the past seven days, health officials have tallied 174 cases in Ketchikan. The community's average daily case rate — the average tally of newly identified cases per 100,000 population — was at an all-time high of 1,272.21, more than 12 times higher than the baseline rate that defines the high virus alert level set by the state Department of Health and Social Services.
Positive test results identified using at-home antigen test kits are not reported in the totals reflected on the community dashboard, according to health officials.
The complete Ketchikan Public Health dashboard can be accessed at www.kgbak.us/913/COVID-19-Response.
Statewide case information
Alaska's COVID-19 case counts continued to spiral to new highs late this week, with more than 5,000 new cases counted between Wednesday and Thursday — an all-time high two-day total that eclipses the previous record, set on Tuesday, by hundreds of cases.
The deaths of two Anchorage residents also were announced in a Friday afternoon case statement from DHSS.
The deaths involved a woman in her 60s and a man in his 60s.
To date, 955 Alaskans have died of COVID-19.
A total of 5,508 new infections were reported between Wednesday and Thursday, including 5,341 resident cases — 2,839 resident cases on Wednesday (a record) and 2,512 on Thursday (the second-highest case count recorded during the pandemic to date).
Areas with 10 or more new resident cases counted between Wednesday and Thursday included Anchorage (2,638), Fairbanks (435), Eagle River (249), Juneau (243), the Greater Wasilla Area (231), Kodiak (194), the Greater Palmer Area (127), Ketchikan (111), North Pole and the Bethel Census Area (87 apiece), Unalaska (86), the Kusilvak Census Area (81), Sitka (64), Soldotna (63), the Nome Census Area (61), Chugiak (55), Homer (43), Bethel (41), Nome (39), the Northwest Arctic Borough (35), Wrangell and Kotzebue (32 each), Kenai (26), the combined Hoonah-Angoon and Yakutat area (24), the Houston/Big Lake area (21), the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the combined Bristol Bay and Lake and Peninsula Borough (19 apiece), Dillingham (14), the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area and Seward (16 each), Utqiagvik (12), and the North Slope Borough (10).
Resident cases also were counted in Craig (six), Petersburg (four), and Metlakatla and Haines (two each), according to DHSS.
Nonresident cases were identified in Anchorage (59); Unalaska (23); Prudhoe Bay (14); the Aleutians East Borough (13); Fairbanks (11); Kenai (four); North Pole, Palmer, Sitka and Kodiak (two each); and Ketchikan, Juneau, Homer, Wasilla and the Bethel Census Area (one each).
Twenty nonresident cases were still being investigated for location on Friday, according to the statement.
Alaska's average daily case rate — the number that refers to the average count of new cases identified per 100,000 individuals over seven days — also soared to new highs, measuring at 1,771.40 on Thursday. That rate comes after the standing record of 1,522.30 was recorded on Monday, according to online DHSS data.
DHSS regularly releases case summaries on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but there will not be a statement published Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next statement will be released Wednesday.
Vaccination update
As of midnight Thursday, 68.4% of eligible Alaskans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to DHSS, and just more than 61% are considered fully vaccinated.
Since Aug. 13, 23.7% of eligible Alaskans have received booster doses of a vaccine.
The Aleutians East Borough was the only area in Alaska with a vaccination rate of more than 90% on Thursday, according to DHSS, 97% of eligible residents have received at least one dose in the area.
Juneau had the second-highest rate, at 84%, tying with the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.
According to DHSS, 72% of eligible Ketchikan residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, ranking just higher than the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (70%) and just behind the Haines Borough (73%).
The vaccination rates of other Southeast communities, based on the percentage of eligible residents with at least one dose, included:
• The City and Borough of Sitka: 83%.
• Skagway Municipality: 82%.
• Yakutat, Hoonah and Angoon combined: 80%.
• Petersburg Borough: 69%.
• City and Borough of Wrangell: 66%.
Omicron update
Alaska's count of known omicron cases jumped from 20 to 42 on Friday, according to an online dashboard managed by DHSS and the Alaska State Virology Lab.
Variant cases of COVID-19 are identified through genomic sequencing, a process that can take weeks and isn't applied to every positive test result, according to state officials.
The first known omicron case was announced in Alaska in late November and involved an Anchorage resident with a history of recent international travel.
"Protective measures against the omicron variant remain the same as for other COVID variants," according to a DHSS summary. "Layering protective measures, including masking, handwashing, physical distancing, and testing help to reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus."
Hospital status update
After months of relatively stable hospitalization rates, more than 100 individuals were hospitalized around Alaska on Thursday due to COVID-19.
A total of 103 individuals were hospitalized with confirmed infections, and nine patients were hospitalized with suspected cases, according to DHSS.
The intensive care units at Bartlett Regional Hospital and SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center were both near capacity on Friday afternoon, along with ICUs at Providence Alaska Medical Center and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, according to a DHSS-run hospital information hub.
ICUs were closed at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and Central Peninsula Hospital, and were shown to be open at Alaska Native Medical Center, Alaska Regional Hospital and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Hospital.
— Compiled by Daily News Staff Writer Raegan Miller