Alaska reports 5 deaths, more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska reported five deaths and over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on Monday — a high number of cases compared to previous COVID-19 roundup reports that include case counts from the weekend.

According to the state’s coronavirus dashboard, 2,108 cases among residents and nonresidents were reported over the past three days, with 916 reported last Friday, 663 reported Saturday and 529 reported Sunday.

The state’s death count rose to 474 people: 459 residents and 15 nonresidents. The five deaths added to the dashboard were recent, according to the state, and include two Anchorage women in their 60s, a Homer woman in her 60s, an Anchor Point man in his 60s and a Sitka man in his 50s.

The number of virus-related hospitalizations dropped slightly from record highs that were reported last week. As of Monday, 198 people are still hospitalized with the virus and 11 others are hospitalized and suspected of having the virus. Of those patients, 37 are on ventilators.

Alaska’s statewide alert level remains high as the virus continues to spread in communities across the state. A majority of the new COVID-19 cases reported Monday were identified among residents of the following communities:

Anchorage: 838
Wasilla: 128
Eagle River: 121
Fairbanks: 113
Juneau: 94
Utqiagvik: 74
North Slope Borough: 73
Palmer: 73
Kodiak: 49
Chugiak: 40
Northwest Arctic Borough: 38
North Pole: 36
Ketchikan: 35
Bethel Census Area: 29
Dillingham Census Area: 23
Kusilvak Census Area: 23
Soldotna: 23
Homer: 22
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 18
Sitka: 16
Fairbanks North Star Borough: 15
Seward: 15
Bristol Bay/Lake and Peninsula: 14
Kenai: 14
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area: 12
Copper River Census Area: 11
Bethel: 10
Delta Junction: 8
Tok: 8
Anchor Point: 7
Nome Census Area: 7
Big Lake: 6
Craig: 5
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 5
Nikiski: 4
Valdez: 4
Aleutians West Census Area: 3
Cordova: 3
Girdwood: 3
Kenai Peninsula Borough - North: 3
Kenai Peninsula Borough - South: 3
Mat-Su Borough: 3
Nome: 3
Salcha: 3
Willow: 3
Denali Borough: 2
Hooper Bay: 2
Kodiak Island Borough: 2
Sterling: 2
Sutton-Alpine: 2
Dillingham: 1
Douglas: 1
Healy: 1
Kotzebue: 1
Unalaska: 1
Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon: 1

The state also identified 54 additional nonresident COVID-19 cases throughout the state on Monday, including 14 in Anchorage, six in Aleutians West Census Area, four in Unalaska, three in Kodiak, three in Seward, three in Wasilla, two in Ketchikan, two in Nome and one each in Delta Junction, Eagle River, Homer, Kenai Peninsula Borough South, Prudhoe Bay, Sitka, Skagway and an unknown location.

The health department’s vaccine monitoring dashboard shows that just over 57% of all eligible Alaskans age 12 and older are now fully vaccinated, and that 62.4% have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.