COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska

COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska
Map of the outbreak in Alaska by confirmed new infections per 100,000 people over 14 days (last updated March 2021)   1,000+   500–1,000   200–500   100–200   50–100   20–50   10–20   0–10   No confirmed new cases or no/bad data
Map of the outbreak in Alaska by confirmed total infections per 100,000 people (last updated March 2021)   10,000+   3,000–10,000   1,000–3,000   300–1,000   100–300   30–100   0–30   No confirmed infected or no data
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Alaska, U.S.
Index case	Anchorage
Arrival date	March 7, 2020
Confirmed cases	118,809[1]
Hospitalized cases	216 (current) 964 (cumulative)[2]
Ventilator cases	40 (current)[3]
Recovered	3,042
Deaths	840[4]
Government website
coronavirus.alaska.gov

Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
COVID-19 (disease) SARS-CoV-2 (virus) Cases Deaths
Timeline 2019 2020 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2021 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2022 January responses February responses
Locations By country and territory Africa Antarctica Asia Europe North America Oceania South America By conveyance Cruise ships Naval ships
International response Evacuations Face masks International aid Investigations into origin Living with COVID-19 Lockdowns by country Misinformation by governments Fake treatments Protests Software Travel restrictions United Nations World Health Organization WTO IP waiver Undercounting of deaths Zero-COVID National responses Africa China European Union Germany Ghana India New Zealand Nigeria Philippines Russia Sweden UK government US federal government Vietnam
Medical response Disease testing Breathalyzer Development Drug development Drug repurposing Public health mitigation Vaccines History Research VITT Deployment Authorizations Operation Warp Speed Misinformation and hesitancy US Vaccine card Vaccine passports Vaccine candidates CoronaVac Covaxin Convidecia Janssen Moderna Novavax Oxford–AstraZeneca Pfizer–BioNTech Sinopharm BIBP Sputnik V
Variants Variants of concern Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Omicron Other variants Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta Iota Kappa Lambda Mu Cluster 5 Lineage B.1.617
Economic impact and recession Arts and culture Aviation Cannabis Cinema films Disney Fashion Financial markets Food industry Food security Journalism Music Performing arts Retail Shipping Sports Television Tourism Video games By country Canada India Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US
Impacts Animals Black people Crime Death rates by country Disability Domestic violence Emergency evacuations Education Female Environment Hospitals Language LGBT community Long-term care Media coverage Mental health Symptoms Migration Military Notable deaths Other health issues Politics diplomacy Popular culture Protests Pregnancy Prisons Religion Catholic Church Hajj Science and technology Social media Strikes Suicides Telehealth Xenophobia and racism Society Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US
COVID-19 portal

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Alaska on March 12, 2020.^[5]

On March 11, Governor Mike Dunleavy's office declared a state of emergency to ensure all entities have the necessary response resources.^[6] The next day, the first case, a foreign national in Anchorage, was announced to the public.^[7]

As of May 28, 2021, Alaska has administered 615,746 COVID-19 vaccine doses, and has fully vaccinated 285,782 people, equivalent to 38.77 percent of the population.^[8]

Impact

Ketchikan, one of the places affected by COVID-19 during the 2020 outbreak in Alaska

On March 21, 2020, Ketchikan, a small, coastal town of approximately 8,000 residents located in Southeast Alaska was determined to have a cluster of six COVID-19 cases. The town sheltered in place for the following 14 days.^[9] On March 24, 2020, three more cases of COVID-19 were found in Ketchikan, bringing the total there to nine.^[10] The next day, the total cases there reached 11.^[11] On April 1, 2020, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Ketchikan rose to 14.^[12]

Measures

In early March, Governor Mike Dunleavy activated the State Emergency Operations Center under Alaska's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.^[13] Joint Task Force-Alaska was stood up to provide a coordinated effort for the Alaska Army and Air National Guard, the Alaska State Defense Force, and the Alaska Naval Militia to support the state.^[14]

On March 13, Governor Dunleavy ordered public schools to close from March 16 to 30,^[15][16] which was later extended to May 1.^[17] School districts were advised to find ways to use remote learning, but there was concern about the impact on the youngest students, special ed students, and small and remote areas where online learning is more difficult.^[16]

On March 17, Governor Dunleavy announced the creation of the Alaska Economic Stabilization Team (AEST).^[18]

Effective March 18, restaurants were restricted to take-out and delivery, and entertainment venues such as movie theaters and gyms were closed.^[19]

Then Mayor of Anchorage Ethan Berkowitz issued an "emergency hunker down order" effective March 22.^[17] Some businesses were closed in Fairbanks North Star Borough and Ketchikan Gateway Borough.^[17] Some villages restricted air travel.^[20][21] Mike Dunleavy ordered everyone arriving in Alaska to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, effective March 25, with limited exceptions.^[22][23]

On May 19, Governor Dunleavy announced the lifting of all state mandates for businesses and public gatherings, keeping only a mandatory (but unenforced) quarantine period for persons coming from out of state.^[24]

In June 2020, Dunleavy announced a new extension of the two week quarantine measure that would require travelers visiting the state to present a negative test of the virus if they are not willing to self-quarantine for two weeks.^[25]

As part of the United States' vaccination campaign, Dunleavy announced in April 2021 that the state would offer free vaccinations to tourists at major Alaskan airports starting June 1.^[26]

Remote communities

By March 22, some remote villages were attempting to isolate themselves.^[27]

In the event of a COVID-19 case being identified in a remote community, the state plan is to transport the patient to a hub city for treatment rather than dispatching medical workers to the remote area.^[20][21]

Statistics