Graphic by Michaeline Collins
The state of Alaska might be peaking in cases of the COVID-19 virus according to the latest testing data. Alaska’s surge of the omicron variant, which began later than many other states, has shown signs of slowing. As of writing, the week-over-week change reported on Feb. 11 is down by 42%. That is following a drop of 26% over the previous two weeks.
In an ADN article published Feb. 4, Alaska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, was quoted as saying, “Here in Alaska, you can see that we’re starting to maybe plateau-ish.” On Feb. 11, the state reported 1,857 new cases over the previous two days.
Omicron, a variant of the COVID-19 virus, was first identified in Nov. 2021 in South Africa. Alaska recorded its first case of the new strain on Dec. 13. In short order it became the dominant form of the virus, pushing the state to the highest case rate in the nation. While omicron generally causes less severe disease, it has led to an increase in hospitalization and death. This is nowhere near the rates of last fall during the delta wave though. At the height of the delta wave, Sep. 24, 2021, the 7-day average for new cases, based on report date, was 1,269, and 207 people were in the hospital. The highest point of the omicron surge so far appears to be on Jan. 24, when the 7-day average for cases hit 2,482, and hospitalized stood at 140. Despite this, the hospital system in Alaska has been strained due to staff being out with COVID-19 or exposure.
According to the CDC, symptoms of omicron infection are similar to the original virus. Dr. Katherine Poehling told NBC news that the prominent symptoms of omicron are cough, fatigue, tiredness, congestion, runny nose, sore throat and headache. The loss of taste and smell that accompanied other variants seems to be less common. While omicron appears to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections, the vast majority of those hospitalized are unvaccinated. Data has shown that those vaccinated are significantly less likely to have severe disease, with boosted individuals receiving the best protection. At the time of writing, there are 105 hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alaska.
At the UA Town Hall on Jan. 27, Vice Chancellor of UAA, Bruce Shultz, addressed questions regarding face masks and other mitigations efforts on the UAA campus. Citing the low number of cases affecting UAA, Shultz expressed confidence that the efforts are working, “What we have seen is our layered strategies, and the masking, and the testing kits that we’re giving out, the continuation of our 10-day quarantine, and isolation for students living on campus is that we believe those layered strategies are working well for our students.”
The number of student cases reported on campus since the start of the spring semester remains at 3. Shultz then went on to mention that the campus has opened up a little to activities. Regarding when we may see a change to the current policies he said, “Until we are at 50 cases or below on a 7-day average for an extended period of time, this is where we are going to be.”
I reached out to Shultz for clarification on what UAA’s masking policy will look like going forward, and in an email from Bill Jacob, the Vice Chancellor of administrative services, I was told, “UAA will consider a mask-encouraged scenario when case counts get below 50 per 100,000 over a 7-day average and when other factors are considered.”
UAA uses community transmission levels as defined by the CDC to set safety measures for operating. The 7-day average in Anchorage, at time of writing, is “high,” at 854 cases per 100k. The CDC defines high transmission as anything over 100 cases per 100K. Cases between 10 and 50 per 100K would be considered “moderate” transmission.
UAA still requires everyone on campus, regardless of vaccine status, to wear a facemask. Jacob said in his email to me, “The current CDC recommendation is that masks are still effective, so UAA is providing blue, disposable masks or N95 and KN95 masks in its buildings.”
The details of UAA’s masking policy are posted at https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/coronavirus/uaa/uaa-mask-policy. UAA also encourages students, staff and faculty to get vaccinated. Information on where to get free vaccines and boosters can be found at anchoragecovidvaccine.org. If you test positive for COVID-19, the Environmental Health and Safety Department asks you to inform them by calling 907-786-1300 or emailing uaa_ehsrms@alaska.edu.
When available, the Consortium Library is distributing free, at-home rapid test kits to students and employees. In an email from associate professor Lorelei Sterling, the interim head of access services with the Consortium Library, I was told that the library has handed out about 2000 test kits since they started distributing them. Each kit comes with two tests, and the library will give out one kit per member of a household, up to a maximum of six. When the Library receives kits, they send out an email to let people know they are available. A follow-up is sent announcing their supplies have been depleted when they run low.
Tim Edwards, Director of environmental health and safety for UAA, told me in an email they are always trying to order kits, though it has become more difficult since the federal government made them available for free to individual households starting Jan. 19. Americans can still order up to four free rapid tests per household from the federal government at covidtests.gov. Testing locations in Anchorage can be found at anchoragecovidtest.org.
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