By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka set another record on Tuesday with 37 new COVID-19 cases reported.
The case rate is also at an all-time high of 15.43 cases per day, and there are 208 active cases.
The trend in Sitka is similar to those around the state and country, but official data show Sitka is the second hottest spot in Alaska and one of the hottest in the U.S., along with Karnes County, Texas.
Two of the 37 positive tests were for nonresidents, and no new cases were posted by press time, for today.
Alaska has had a 400 percent increase in cases over the last 14 days. The New York Times COVID page shows the Valdez-Cordova area has had a 1,400 percent increase over the same period, with Sitka just under that with a 1,386 percent increase.
Juneau reported 16 new cases Tuesday (an increase in cases of 900 percent). Juneau’s Emergency Operations Center reported that “four variants of concern have been identified in Juneau. ... Variants appear to be gaining ground.”
The dashboard at cityofsitka.org is listing the vaccination status of the positive cases. The majority are of unvaccinated people, but there are a number of “breakthroughs” as well – a positive test on a fully vaccinated person.
Of the 35 positive resident cases reported Tuesday, 13 were breakthroughs. Public health officials say the vaccines are working as expected in protecting against the virus, as breakthrough cases are usually mild, often without symptoms.
Two nonresident cases also were posted, of which one was vaccinated and the other was not.
The city and the Unified Command group continue to stress that the general public should take precautions, and urge those who are not yet vaccinated to get their shots.
City Administrator John Leach said Sitka’s data indicate that an unvaccinated person is four times more likely to contract COVID-19 than someone who is vaccinated.
In an exercise, which he said “is not scientific by any means,” Leach used the vaccinated figure at the time he conducted the exercise, of 5,150, and the unvaccinated figure of 2,235. He said the figures have changed, but not enough to significantly change the infection rate.
He said:
– 70 percent of Sitka’s eligible population is fully vaccinated.
– since June 1, there have been 207 positive cases, of which 68 are breakthrough cases (32.8 percent) and 139 are unvaccinated (67.2 percent).
The 68 breakthroughs come from a vaccinated population of 5,150, “meaning since June 1, there is a 1.3 percent (68 out of 5,150) infection rate within the vaccinated population.”
The 119 cases of unvaccinated people came from an unvaccinated population of about 2,235, “meaning since 6/1/2021 there is a 5.3% (119 out of 2,235) infection rate within the unvaccinated population.”
Leach said he excluded the under-10 age group but not the 10-19 population, since those 12 and up are eligible for vaccine.
“This loosely shows that an unvaccinated person is four times more likely to contract COVID-19,” he said.
“The case count increase is largely due to the unvaccinated population which leads to mitigation efforts that apply to the population as a whole,” said the administrator.
Responding to the upsurge of COVID cases in Sitka, Leach is requiring masks in city buildings where six-foot distancing is not possible.
“I’m not sure what can be said that hasn’t already been said, or what can be done that hasn’t already been done, without decimating our local economy,” Leach said this week. “We’ll continue to advocate for following the recommended mitigation efforts and discussing the vaccine with your healthcare professional, but it will all ultimately come down to Sitkans’ personal choice. Unfortunately, personal choice is continuing to negatively affect the lives of others.
“Just be a good neighbor,” he said.
Leach included the CDC link for “When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated”:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html.
