There's Absolutely no Good News in This Week's COVID Case Update
Alaska DHSS has released the weekly COVID-19 Case Update and there's not one shred of good news in it.
Case trends and predictions
- For the fourth week in a row, more cases (2,017) were reported in Alaskans this week than any previous week, a 56% increase over last week.
- The statewide positivity rate is at a record high for the fourth week in a row. Increases in testing are not keeping up with increases in cases.
- Cases are increasing in both urban and rural regions. The largest increase in cases was in Anchorage Municipality, which averaged 146 new cases a day this week, for a 14-day case rate of 40.4. The largest increase in case rate was in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Region, which averaged 39 new cases a day this week, for a 14-day case rate of 100.1.
- An updated model epidemic curve predicts Alaska’s cases will continue to accelerate over the next week and are likely to double again within the next 3-4 weeks or sooner. This model does not take into account the last 7 days’ record case rates, so the true doubling rate is higher.
