Alaska’s COVID-19 case rate is now the highest in the nation

Alaska’s COVID-19 case rate is now the highest in the nation as state reports 6 deaths Alaska’s average rate of daily new infections over the last week is more than double the national average, and hospitals continue to operate under what were once unimaginable circumstances. Anchorage Daily News

With many hospitals still in crisis, Alaska is now recording the highest case rate per capita of any U.S. state after surpassing its winter-level peak for COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

According to a New York Times tracker updated Tuesday, Alaska’s average rate of daily new infections over the last week is more than double the national average — and higher than any state. The state on Tuesday reported 861 cases after recording more than 2,000 new cases in three days over the weekend. ...

Alaska’s hospitals continue to operate under what were once unimaginable circumstances. Last week, the state’s largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, announced it was shifting to crisis standards of care and rationing treatment due to a combination of staffing shortages and COVID-19 cases that accounted for about a third of the hospital’s patients.

Hospital patients have since died as a direct result of limited resources and impossible choices doctors have had to make, hospital administrators said Monday. It’s likely that Providence will remain in crisis mode for at least another two weeks, they said. ...