By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
After a steep drop in average cases per day for two weeks, Sitka’s dashboard leveled off on Monday, with five new positive results from COVID tests.
Although five were added, a day with five cases dropped off the two-week list of cases, and the 14-day rolling case rate average stayed at 2.21.
The positive results were for tests taken Dec. 10 and 11, with results returned Dec. 14. All are isolating in Sitka, and all contact tracing has been completed for all Monday cases. They were:
- a symptomatic man, 60-69, tested Dec. 10, transmission classification is “secondary.”
- a symptomatic man, 60-69, tested Dec. 11, transmission classification “secondary.”
- a symptomatic man, 20-29, tested Dec. 10, “secondary.”
- an asymptomatic girl, 0-9, tested Dec. 11, “secondary.”
- a symptomatic woman, 60-69, tested Dec. 10, “community spread.”
“Community spread” means no source was identified. “Secondary” means the person was a contact of a known local positive case, the dashboad says.
There are currently 16 active cases on the city’s dashboard, with a 14-day rolling case rate of 2.21. The cumulative resident total is 221, and the nonresident tally is 22.
The dashboard lists 227 cases as “recovered” of the 243 cumulative cases. The dashboard also shows Sitka in the “high risk” or “red” since early November, with a steep increase through late November and early December, and a steep decline in the per-day case average since then.
Alaska received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday night. The state Department of Health and Social Services said, “Supply is very limited at this time. Most of the groups the vaccine is currently available to are healthcare workers.”
But on a question of “When will I be able to get the vaccine,” the DHSS post says: “All Alaskans will have access to the vaccine over time.” Updates are on a link “COVID-19 vaccine status update” at:
http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/epi/id/pages/COVID-19/vaccine.aspx.
The federal government approved 35,000 doses of the vaccine from the Pfizer company for Alaska. Another shipment of 27,000 doses of a different vaccine from drug company Moderna is expected soon. DHSS says the first round of vaccinations is limited to nursing home and other long-term care facility residents and staff; emergency responders providing medical care; community health aides; frontline health care workers with the highest risk of getting COVID-19; and responders who are personally administering vaccinations.
Sitka’s vaccine may arrive by tonight, health officials said. The Anchorage Daily News reported at press time today that the first vaccines were being administered in Anchorage to frontline medical workers, including respiratory therapists and others at higher risk for exposure to COVID-19, at the Alaska Native Medical Center.
