The Alaska Division of Health reported 20 covid cases in Sitka over the last seven days. The threshold for moving from low to medium, and vice versa, is 17 cases in a week.

If anyone is hospitalized in Sitka for Covid, the alert level would shift to “high.”

The primary recommendation for reducing the serious health risks associated with Covid-19 disease is to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, and if you’re vaccinated, to get boosted. On August 31, the US Food & Drug Administration amended the “emergency use authorizations” of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to include updated boosters. Known as “bivalent” vaccines, the shots work against the original strain of Covid, as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 lineages of the Omicron variant.

The updated Moderna vaccine will be available for anyone 18 and over; the updated Pfizer vaccine will be available for those age 12 and over.

Health authorities anticipate that Covid vaccines may eventually be administered once a year, much like the influenza vaccine.

The Alaska Division of Health is expected to begin distributing the updated vaccines to providers around the state in the near future.

The US Centers for Disease Control lowered the alert based on data from the state, showing only 12 reported cases of Covid in the community in the last week.

For a town of Sitka’s size, the threshold for moving up to “medium” alert is 17 or more cases in a week. To go to “high” alert, someone must be hospitalized for covid.

Sitka joins much of the rest of the state in shifting to low alert. The Alaska Division of Health reports just over 1,700 cases of Covid statewide in the past week, but no new hospitalizations. That’s down from six the previous week. However, there are still 80 patients hospitalized in Alaska for the virus.

The CDC guidelines for managing Covid are similar in “low” alert to what they were in “medium.” At the top of the list is being up-to-date with Covid vaccines and boosters, keeping spaces well-ventilated, and staying in touch with your healthcare provider if you are at high risk for becoming very sick. Masks can be worn by anyone at any time, especially in indoor public transportation settings, and as required by state and local authorities.

The Alaska Department of Health reported the new casualty in its weekly COVID summary published on Wednesday (8-10-22). The Sitka resident in his seventies died in May– his death was one of 21 included in the statewide report, spanning from February to July of this year.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the state has reported seven deaths associated with the virus in Sitka and 29 hospitalizations. 

This week, the state reported 51 new coronavirus cases in Sitka, up slightly from the week before. The community’s COVID level remains high, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Cities around the country have been pushed into high alert in the last few weeks, as the highly transmissible BA.5 omicron subvariant becomes the dominant strain of the virus throughout the United States.

The community’s drop to “medium” means that no Sitkans are currently hospitalized with the virus, but KCAW has still been unable to confirm exactly how many, if any, Sitkans were hospitalized with the coronavirus in the three weeks the community was experiencing a “high” level. COVID levels weigh hospitalizations more heavily than cases, and that’s reflected in the numbers this week. Even though the city’s COVID level has shifted down, Sitka’s weekly case count has crept up, with 40 cases reported from Tuesday to Tuesday. 

Since the start of the pandemic the Alaska Department of Health has reported 2999 coronavirus cases in Sitka. 

The state updates its COVID-19 counts weekly on Wednesdays. Then on Thursdays, the CDC issues its report, updating the community alert status for cities around the country.

Sitka’s case count has remained relatively steady, with 30 cases reported two weeks ago, and 33 cases reported over the last week (based on data collected from June 28 to July 5). To shift to high in mid-June, would likely mean at least one person was hospitalized with the virus. KCAW has reached out to state health officials and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, but so far has been unable to confirm how many, if any, Sitkans are currently hospitalized. 

According to a memo from the Alaska Department of Health, Alaska saw an eight percent increase in the number of coronavirus cases last week (web: between June 26 and July 2), and while hospitalizations remain below the peak of the Omicron wave statewide, they have “increased substantially” throughout the state since mid-April. Nearly all of the cases in Alaska are “omicron” and by mid-June the highly contagious BA.5 variant accounted for over 41% of COVID cases in Alaska.   

Since the start of the pandemic, Sitka has reported 2958 COVID cases, 29 hospitalizations, and six deaths. 

For communities in the red, the CDC recommends wearing a well-fitting mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status, and testing for COVID if you have symptoms, as well as more strenuous recommendations for those at risk of illness or who are immunocompromised. 

Over the last two and a half years, the community has reported 2844 coronavirus cases, 29 hospitalizations and six deaths.

On Thursday (5-19-22) the Centers for Disease Control reported that Sitka’s community alert level remains at “medium” meaning no one has been hospitalized for the virus in the last week. Sitka’s community alert level will shift to “low” if hospitalizations remain at zero and the community case rate continues to fall. 

This week the CDC updated its vaccine recommendations – it’s now recommending Pfizer boosters for children age 5-11, five months after their initial series. It’s also recommending that immunocompromised individuals 12 and up, and all adults 50 and older get an additional booster shot four months after their first booster.

Earlier this week, the CDC updated its travel guidance, recommending that everyone two years or older continue to wear properly fitting masks in areas of public transportation, like planes, trains, and buses. But the federal government is no longer requiring masks on public transit, as a result of a court order issued on April 18. 

75 new coronavirus cases were reported by the state last week in Sitka. Months ago, this jump in cases would put Sitka’s COVID-19 alert level at high, but CDC guidance now weighs hospitalizations more heavily than case counts. So Sitka remains at ‘medium’ because there have been no hospitalizations associated with the recent uptick.

Some of the new coronavirus cases over the last week are linked to outbreaks at two local healthcare facilities that serve some of Sitka’s most vulnerable– the state-run Pioneer Home, and the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s (SEARHC) long-term care unit. SEARHC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl says those outbreaks haven’t resulted in any hospitalizations.

“And the staff of both of those facilities are doing a terrific job of caring for people,” Bruhl says. “Nobody has had to be hospitalized. And anyone who would qualify for one of the medications that we use now to treat COVID disease for high risk individuals — medicines like Paxlovid and Molnupiravir— our staff, our medical staff, is prescribing those medicines.”

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reports new COVID-19 cases on a weekly basis, and this is the biggest jump in cases in Sitka since early February. Getting a clear read on the number of positives in the community is even harder, since many are taking advantage of readily available home test kits.

But, according to new community guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control the number of new coronavirus cases doesn’t carry as much weight as it did earlier in the pandemic. And even with the recent uptick, Dr. Bruhl is optimistic about where Sitka stands with the virus, almost two years to the date since the community’s first COVID case was reported.

“I think we are in a good place,” Bruhl says. “There’s a lot of reasons why.” 

Perhaps most notably, Bruhl says the current variant, BA.2 – although highly contagious – doesn’t seem to be very virulent.

“So people are not getting really sick with it,” he says. “We don’t have anybody in the hospital for COVID disease…and we haven’t for some time. So that’s good news.”

He says community awareness is around the virus and public health remains strong. People know what to do to protect themselves — wash their hands, stay home if they’re sick, and take a COVID test. The other tools, vaccinations and being up to date on boosters, remain crucial.

Another layer of protection – the mask – has been making headlines again, after a federal mandate for masking during air travel was lifted on April 18.  

“You know, mask requirements have been dropped, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear a mask,” Bruhl says. “I think if you’re concerned or you’re vulnerable, just like at any point in time in the last two years, you should wear a mask.”

So, what does this mean? Case counts are going up, but local hospitalizations are still at zero and have been for a while. So is that ‘return to normal’ that many are hoping for finally here? Will the coronavirus become endemic? What’s next?

“We would all like to have closure and certainty, but we don’t, unfortunately,” says Bruhl.

He says it could be that COVID-19, like other viruses, may become a part of ‘the lay of the land’ in public health. But Bruhl says one thing is clear: At an individual level, the approach to the virus is still pretty straightforward.   

“I think that’s what we can control. You know, we can control our own…health and behavior in terms of trying to stay safe,” Bruhl says. “I continue to urge people to get vaccinated. If they’ve been vaccinated and [are] eligible to get a booster, to get a booster…And that they need to stay home if they’re sick.”

Bruhl says PCR coronavirus tests are still available daily at Mountainside Clinic Monday through Saturday, and local vaccine clinics are still administering out initial doses and booster shots, free to the public. 

Sitka’s COVID alert level has been downgraded to “low” for the first time since the Centers for Disease Control issued new guidance that weighs a community’s hospitalization rate more heavily than new cases.

Today (4-7-22) the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 14 new cases in Sitka over the last week, a drop from the 17 cases reported the week before– just enough to shift Sitka’s alert level from “medium” to “low.” 

While Sitka’s weekly COVID numbers are still higher than they were before omicron became the dominant variant in January, this week’s report continues a downward trend in cases that began in mid-February.

Both the Alaska Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control have moved to once-a-week updates. New case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths will be reported on Thursdays.

While cases are on the decline in Sitka, epidemiologists are watching the BA.2 variant closely to see whether it will cause a new spike in cases in the United States. The omicron subvariant has become dominant in the US in recent weeks, and constitutes around 45 % of Alaska’s new cases. State epidemiologists continue to say vaccination and boosters are the best line of defense against COVID. While 75% of Sitkans have received their initial vaccine series, only 43% received a booster shot.