Alaska on Wednesday reported 1,773 cases of COVID-19 over five days as part of a steep decline in the state’s omicron surge.
• The latest numbers included 1,749 cases among residents and another 24 among nonresidents, as well as 94 COVID-positive patients hospitalized statewide, compared to 95 hospitalizations as of last week.
• Cases over the last week declined by 36% compared to the week before, state data showed.
• The state reported 22 additional COVID-19 deaths since last week. The state now reports COVID-related deaths only on Wednesdays. Since the pandemic began, a total of 1,130 Alaskans and 33 nonresidents have died from the virus.
• The newly reported deaths included seven people from Anchorage, two from the Bethel Census Area, one from Chugiak, three from Fairbanks, one from Houston, one from Ketchikan, one from the Kusilvak Census Area, one from the North Slope Borough, two from Palmer, two from Wasilla and one from the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area. Four were in their 80s, six were in their 70s, four were in their 60s, five were in their 50s, two were in their 40s, and one was in his 30s. Nine were women and 13 were men.
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• Alaska’s seven-day new case rate has fallen to ninth-highest in the nation, according to a CDC tracker. Alaska’s omicron wave began and peaked a few weeks behind other states, but is now falling.
• As of Wednesday, 63.6% of eligible Alaskans had completed their primary vaccine series. Just 26.4% had received their booster.
Avii Mafuao receives a COVID-19 test at a drive-through testing site at 4810 C Street in Anchorage on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. Mafuao waited in line for more than hour. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Alaska is so low on its supply of certain COVID-19 treatments that only the most severely at-risk people will likely have access to them — all while unprecedented numbers of Alaskans are testing positive during the current omicron surge.
The state on Friday reported 5,508 new cases among residents and nonresidents over the previous two days. That breaks down to 2,598 cases Wednesday and 2,910 on Thursday, once again shattering records reported earlier this week.
The number of patients hospitalized with the virus rose slightly to 87, up from 80 as of Wednesday. While that’s a fraction of the record hospitalizations reported last fall, hospital administrators this week say facilities are again feeling strained by rising patient counts and staffing shortages.
[Alaska shatters COVID-19 case record as omicron adds to growing strain on hospitals]
In Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, the case rate has more than doubled since last week, and municipal residents accounted for more than half of the new cases reported by the state health department. The Anchorage School District was reporting 1,171 currently active cases as of Friday afternoon among more than 49,000 students and employees, though the district’s dashboard doesn’t include every case tracked by the state.
Alaska reported two additional virus-related deaths Friday, involving two Anchorage residents in their 60s. Since the start of the pandemic, 955 Alaskans and 32 nonresidents in the state have died from the virus.
September and October 2021 were the deadliest months of the pandemic so far. While recent case counts have exceeded prior records, officials say there are some signs that the omicron surge may not be as severe as the delta wave in terms of hospitalizations or deaths.
Still, the omicron variant is bringing with it new challenges.
Monoclonal antibody treatmentshave been important in treating COVID-19 patients early, particularly those who are at high risk of severe illness, like people who are immunocompromised. But two of the three types of monoclonal antibody treatments available aren’t effective against omicron, which is putting pressure on the supply of treatments that are.
Meanwhile, a newer oral antiviral treatment is also scarce, though for different reasons, according to state pharmacist Coleman Cutchins. The oral medicine was only recently authorized as a COVID-19 treatment and there isn’t a large amount manufactured yet, he said.
Both the newness of the drug and the high demand amid surging case counts has led to its scarcity. But that likely won’t be the case for long, Cutchins said: It’s easier to ramp up production of the oral medication compared to monoclonal antibodies, which must be refrigerated when shipped and take more time to produce.
The scarcity of some treatments prompted Alaska’s crisis care committee to recommend that therapeutic treatment providers prioritize people with certain medical conditions into tiers, with those who are most at risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19 at the top.
The state’s chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, said this week that it’s likely there’s only enough of both the monoclonal antibodies and the newer oral antiviral treatments for people in the first tier.
That group includes those whose immune systems won’t respond adequately to the vaccine or past infection because of underlying conditions, as well as people who aren’t current on their vaccine and are either age 75 and older, age 65 and older with risk factors or pregnant, according to the recommendations.
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The monoclonal antibody shipments arrive in one-week cycles, with enough to supply 13 therapy sites with six doses each, a total of 78 doses, Cutchins said. Most states are getting a small allocation, given that the treatments are hard to manufacture and take a while to ramp up production.
Nurses Crista Johnson and Jeremiah Hassemer prepare monoclonal antibody treatments before the clinic opens at Tikahtnu Commons in East Anchorage on Friday, September 24, 2021. The state-contracted clinic is operated by Fairweather LLC. (Marc Lester / ADN)
He said the situation around treatment isn’t entirely negative: It’s likely that most vaccinated and boosted people do not need monoclonal antibodies, plus there are two new oral drugs that work against COVID-19 as well, including the omicron variant, though data is limited, according to the National Institutes of Health.
“Oral drugs are really a game changer,” he said.
The antibody infusions, which require an IV and a sterile environment, are far less convenient compared with the ease of taking an oral drug. But oral drugs currently remain scarce, though Cutchins said he expected to see more of them quickly, even in the next two weeks and even more a month from mid-January.
“As the orals become more and more available, we actually have a lot less need for monoclonals,” he said.
Jyll Green, operations manager at a state-contracted monoclonal treatment facility in Anchorage, characterized the lack of supply Thursday morning as “a pretty dire situation.”
It started the day after Christmas, when her phone’s voicemail was full by 4 p.m. They were back doing roughly 50 infusions each day, six days a week. By Thursday, Green only had 24 doses available, with six already accounted for and only a light shipment expected for the following week.
“It’s been a big ship to turn — people are used to having that safety net and something that will help them to get better and more quickly,” Green said.
As the treatment center implemented crisis standards around prioritization, Green said she’s had hundreds of conversations with people letting them know she can’t give them the treatment.
“If we had it, we would gladly give it to you,” Green said. “We’re not trying to be rude, we’d love to help everybody, but we still have to protect that highest-risk group right now.”
So far, the facility has not had to turn anyone away in the highest-risk category yet, Green said.
Daily News reporter Annie Berman contributed to this article.
Alaska has identified its second omicron variant case, involving an Anchorage resident who had recently traveled out of state, the state health department said Wednesday.
The person involved had traveled elsewhere in the U.S. in December, and they had already reached out to close contacts and were isolating “with mild illness” when contact tracers got in touch, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The omicron case was detected through genomic sequencing by an out-of-state lab, the state health department said.
Alaska’s first omicron case was identified last week. Health officials have said they expect more cases to emerge based on the variant’s spread across the nation and world. They continue to encourage vaccinations and booster shots as the best way to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
While much is still unknown about the new variant, some real-world data suggests that omicron may cause milder illness than the delta variant — even though omicron may be more transmissible and less often deterred by vaccines.
[Biden pledges 500 million free rapid coronavirus tests to counter omicron variant]
Alaska on Wednesday also reported 235 new COVID-19 cases over the previous two days and 30 deaths, most identified through a review of death certificates.
Four of the deaths had occurred recently while the other 26 were identified through a review of death certificates from September to December.
The deaths involved eight people from Wasilla, five people from Anchorage, three from Palmer, three from small communities in the Bethel Census Area, two from North Pole, and one each from Bethel, Fairbanks, Houston, Ketchikan, Soldotna, Willow and smaller communities in the Copper River Census Area, Matanuska-Susitna Borough and Southeast Fairbanks Census Area.
The deaths involved four Alaskans who were in their 80s or older, eight in their 70s, 12 in their 60s, three in their 50s, two in their 30s and one in their 20s.
Government agencies rely on death certificates to report COVID-19 deaths. If a physician judges that a COVID-19 infection contributed to a person’s death, it is included on the death certificate and ultimately counted in the state’s official toll, health officials say.
State data shows that September and October 2021 have been by far the deadliest months of the pandemic. Since the pandemic arrived in Alaska in March 2020, 945 Alaskans and 31 nonresidents in the state have died from the virus.
The vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths have involved people who are unvaccinated.
Virus-related hospitalizations continued to fall statewide. As of Wednesday, the state reported 56 COVID-positive people were hospitalized across Alaska, down from 65 hospitalizations as of Monday. The percentage of hospitalizations involving people who have tested positive for the virus is 5.8%.
Just over 67% of Alaskans 5 and older as well as military members have received at least one vaccine dose, while 60% of eligible Alaskans are considered fully vaccinated. About 21% have received a booster shot.
[Dozens of Alaska doctors receive packages, at work and at home, from group promoting unproven COVID-19 treatments]
Case counts and hospitalizations have been significantly lower so far this month than during the state’s most recent surge, which peaked in the fall and was driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Other states, however, are seeing surging case counts and crowded hospitals.
Alaska’s new-case rate over a seven-day period was 40th in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The state’s overall death rate is the fifth lowest in the country.
The next state COVID-19 dashboard update is expected Monday due to the Christmas Eve holiday.
Transport medium tubes at the new Capstone Clinic COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at 4810 C Street on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Alaska’s first reported case of the omicron variant on Monday comes as the state is seeing a steady decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The state on Monday reported one virus-related death and 422 new cases over the weekend, a significant drop in cases compared to earlier in the fall when a surge overwhelmed much of the state’s health care capacity, sickening and killing hundreds.
The city of Anchorage announced that the state’s first case of the new omicron variant had been detected on Monday. It was detected in a resident who traveled internationally last month and tested positive for the virus in Anchorage.
The newly reported death was in a Ketchikan man in his 60s. In total, 857 COVID-19 deaths among residents and 30 among nonresidents in Alaska have been reported since the pandemic arrived in the state in spring 2020.
By Monday, COVID-19 patients made up only 5.3% of the state’s hospitalized patients. In all, 63 people were in Alaska hospitals with active cases of the virus.
Those numbers don’t include some people recovering from the disease who need continued care. They represent a significant decrease from the high of more than 200 people hospitalized on average in September and October.
The portion of COVD-19 tests coming back positive was down to 3.57% by Monday based on a seven-day rolling average, also significantly below the state’s peak of 10.9% in October.
Nationally, Alaska’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people was ranked 30th, after taking the No.1 spot with the highest case rate in the nation for several weeks earlier this fall.
Alaska’s first case of a new coronavirus variant was detected in an Anchorage resident Monday, the city’s health department said.
The omicron variant was found through genomic sequencing by the Alaska State Public Health Laboratory, the department said in a written statement.
The variant was detected in someone who tested positive for the virus in Anchorage after traveling internationally in November, according to the department.
The variant, first detected globally in November, was classified as a “Variant of Concern,” by the World Health Organization. There are still many unknowns about the nature of omicron, though officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say “current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the omicron variant.”
[CDC director says omicron variant cases in US are mostly mild so far]
Despite unknowns surrounding the variant, health officials still continue to emphasize that vaccination, wearing a mask in public and testing can all help slow transmission and lower the chances of a new variant.
“While this case of omicron does not come as a surprise, it is a reminder that we need to remain vigilant to reduce the risk of COVID transmission,” the state’s chief medical officer Dr. Anne Zink said in an emailed statement Monday evening.
Zink said Alaskans who have traveled internationally should get tested 3 to 5 days after arriving back in the state, regardless of vaccination or symptoms, though unvaccinated travelers are urged to quarantine for a week after their trip.
A majority of states and more than 60 countries around the globe have detected the variant.
In Washington state, a mutation typical of the variant was found in 13% of 217 new cases Wednesday, after only having detected the variant two weeks before, the New York Times reported this week.
The health department is encouraging both vaccinations and booster shots of the COVID-19, and for those who do test positive to check with a provider about monoclonal antibody treatment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
More:
2 weeks after the omicron variant’s discovery, where do we go from here?
Inside the race to test the omicron COVID-19 variant’s true threat
Vehicle exhaust rises as people wait at Visit Healthcare COVID-19 testing site at the Loussac Library during the cold snap on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Alaska over the weekend reported 750 new cases of COVID-19, continuing down a path of decreasing daily case counts.
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital reported two additional deaths among two COVID-19 patients ages 52 and 79, according to a release from the hospital Monday morning.
COVID-19 hospitalizations had decreased significantly by Monday, with 112 patients who had active cases of the virus hospitalized statewide.
The portion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state, at 11%, is about half of what it was during a peak in hospitalizations earlier in the fall. Those numbers don’t include some people who are recovering from the disease and need continued care, often for several weeks after they are admitted.
The decreases follow a period in which cases and hospitalizations peaked and then continued at high levels in September and October.
Cases reported over the weekend included 287 on Saturday, 305 Sunday and 158 Monday.
Alaska ranked eighth among states for its COVID-19 case rate on Monday with 394 cases per 100,000 people. Through most of September and October, Alaska had the highest case rate per capita in the country.
By Monday, cases rates nationally had risen 18% over the last seven days while hospitalizations had increased by 6.4%, said state epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin, who received the updated figures while on a call with officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The highest case counts were among states that are cold, like New Hampshire, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont, Alaska and Colorado, which shows the virus’s seasonality, he said.
“The colder regions of the country are being disproportionately impacted,” McLaughlin said. “This is consistent with what we know about respiratory pathogens like cold viruses and influenza viruses, is that they tend to be more pronounced during the winter months when people are inside together, sharing air and in closer proximity to each other.”
Alaska is just coming off its major surge fueled by the Delta variant of the virus. But when it comes to what the future could look like in the state, the virus can be unpredictable.
“While we are on this downward trajectory and we’re very happy about that, we also need to make sure that we remain vigilant and don’t let down our guard, especially as we enter the holiday season,” McLaughlin said.
He underscored the importance of vaccinations, as well as the availability of vaccine boosters to anyone ages older than 18 if they’re far enough away from their previous dose of the vaccine.
Additionally, ensuring good indoor ventilation, masking and avoiding crowds can all help reduce transmission.
Felicia Moore draws a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 while working at the Anchorage School District Education Center vaccine clinic on Nov. 3. (Emily Mesner / ADN)
Alaska reported 1,089 new COVID-19 infections and two additional deaths from Saturday to Monday.
COVID-19 cases in the state started declining recently after weeks of high daily counts. Alaska experienced a surge for much of September and October that squeezed hospital capacity and brought hundreds of deaths.
Cases over the weekend included 427 reported Saturday, 349 on Sunday and 313 Monday.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Alaska has the fourth highest seven-day rolling case rate in the nation, following Minnesota, New Mexico and North Dakota. Alaska previously led the nation for weeks. The state’s seven-day case rate of 412 per 100,000 people Monday was still much higher than the national average of 170.
There were 146 people hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide by Monday, a decrease from a high of more than 200 people hospitalized on averagesince September, though up from the week before, when around 130 people were hospitalized statewide.
Last week, the head of the state’s hospital association said the situation in Alaska’s hospitals was becoming more manageable.
On Monday, Alaska also reported an additional two COVID-19 deaths among two Anchorage women in their 80′s or older.
Alaska’s most recent surge made September and October the state’s deadliest stretch of the pandemic, with 255 deaths, roughly 31% of the 803 COVID-19 deaths among residents since the start of the pandemic. The state has also reported an additional 30 COVID-19 deaths among nonresidents.
Around 59% of Alaskans ages 5 and older had received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 54% were considered fully vaccinated by Monday.
Alaska on Friday reported 879 COVID-19 cases over two days as virus-related hospitalizations continued to decline statewide.
The state no longer updates its coronavirus dashboard on holidays, meaning the latest case count included cases reported for both Thursday and Friday.
The numbers reflect a recent and gradual decline in cases in Alaska — state data showed a 26% decrease in cases over the last week compared to the week before.
By Friday, there were 124 people hospitalized with COVID-19, state dashboard data showed, with about 14% of the state’s hospitalized patients considered to have active cases.
That’s a significant decrease from a high of more than 200 people hospitalized on averagesince September, and the lowest count the state has recorded since August.
Crisis standards of care are still officially enabled at approximately 20 of Alaska’s hospitals, but hospital officials have said that declining COVID-positive patient counts meant that facilities have not had to act on those standards in the last few weeks.
Some hospitals still have relatively high patient counts, but transfers between hospitals are much easier than they were a few weeks ago and staffing and resources are feeling less strained than they were before, hospital officials say.
Starting in July, a virus surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant caused a sharp rise in hospitalizations and deaths around Alaska — mostly among the unvaccinated — and stretched the health care system to a breaking point.
The impacts of that surge are still being borne out. While no new COVID-19 deaths were reported on Thursday or Friday, earlier in the week the state reported 90 additional deaths, most of which occurred in September and October 2021 — the deadliest months of the pandemic in Alaska so far.
COVID-19 deaths don’t always appear immediately in the state’s virus data. Sometimes they show up only after health officials review death certificates, a process that can sometimes take several weeks.
In total, the state has reported 801 COVID-19 deaths among residents, and 30 among nonresidents living in the state.
Alaska’s seven-day case rate — at 412.4 per 100,000, or about 2 1/2 times the national average — is now the third-highest among U.S. states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some Alaska communities, like the Native village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island, continue to experience outbreaks. About 15% of the remote community of about 500 residents had COVID-19 as of Wednesday, KNOM reported.
The portion of COVID-19 tests returning positive results was 7.1% as of Friday based on a seven-day rolling average, a drop from a peak of above 10% in mid-October.
Of Alaskans 5 and older, 59% have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, state data showed.
Parents seeking children’s vaccine options at Anchorage-area providers can look for those designations at anchoragecovidvaccine.org, which lists many, but not all, vaccine providers available.
All Alaskans can also call the state’s coronavirus helpline at 907-646-3322 for assistance finding and making an appointment. That phone line is monitored from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.
COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to fall statewide on Tuesday, prompting optimism from the head of Alaska’s hospital association after months of high stress and strain on health care facilities.
“It feels like we’re at a turning point,” said Jared Kosin, president and CEO of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, referencing a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the last week and a half.
“We’re feeling like the situation (in hospitals) is becoming manageable in a way that it hasn’t been in a long time,” he said.
There were 131 people hospitalized with COVID-19 by Tuesday, state dashboard data showed, with about 14.4% of the state’s hospitalized patients considered to have active cases. That’s a significant decrease from a high of more than 200 people hospitalized on averagesince September.
Fairbanks Memorial Hospital announced Tuesday that it was deactivating crisis standards in place since the beginning of October. The return to a less pressured “contingency” standards of care was a reflection of reduced hospitalization rates, in the facility and statewide, that improved capacity and made it easier to transfer patients to other hospitals when needed, Foundation Health Partners said in a statement.
The impacts of the most recent virus surge are still being borne out: Alaska on Tuesday reported another 28 virus-related deaths identified through a review of death certificates. Twenty-two of those fatalities occurred in October, with another five in September and one in August.
On Monday, the state reported 53 virus deaths, most of which had occurred in September.
The state health department also reported 387 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. Case counts have declined from the record highs Alaska saw a few weeks ago, but numbers are still relatively high when looking at the pandemic overall.
Alaska’s seven-day case rate — at 546 per 100,000, or about 3 1/2 times the national average — continues to be the highest among U.S. states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[New Alaska data traces disproportionate experiences of COVID-19 by race, gender and vaccination status]
Starting in July, a virus surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant caused a sharp rise in hospitalizations and deaths around Alaska and stretched the health care system to a breaking point. September and October 2021 were the deadliest months of the pandemic so far, state data showed as of Tuesday.
And while crisis standards of care were still officially activated at approximately 20 of Alaska’s hospitals, Kosin said that declining COVID-positive patient counts meant that facilities have not had to act on those standards in at least the last week and a half.
The shift to crisis standards is often seen as a worst-case scenario. They are meant to provide both guidance and liability protection for health care workers operating with extremely scarce resources.
“If this trend continues to hold, we would expect that crisis standards of care would be deactivated,” Kosin said.
The latest case count is also part of a downward trajectory in cases that Alaska has seen recently after several weeks of plateauing daily numbers.
[Alaska coronavirus Q&A: Answering parents’ questions about vaccinating children]
The newly reported deaths involved: a Kotzebue woman in her 60s; six men from Fairbanks, including two in their 80s or older, two in their 70s and two in their 50s; an Anchorage man in his 70s; an Anchorage woman in her 60s; eight women from Wasilla, including three in their 80s or older, one in her 70s, three in their 60s and one in her 50s; six people from Palmer, including three men in their 80s or older, a man and a woman in their 70s and a woman in her 60s; a Soldotna man in his 60s; a Homer man in his 80s; a woman from the Dillingham Census Area in her 50s; a Kodiak woman in her 80s or older; and a Juneau man in his 60s.
COVID-19 deaths don’t always show up immediately in the state’s virus data. Sometimes they show up only after health officials review death certificates, a process that can sometimes take several weeks.
Government agencies rely on death certificates to report COVID-19 deaths. If a physician judges that a COVID-19 infection contributed to a person’s death, it is included on the death certificate and ultimately counted in the state’s official toll, health officials say.
The portion of COVID-19 tests returning positive results was 7.69% as of Tuesday based on a seven-day rolling average, a drop from a peak of 10.9% in mid-October.
Alaska on Monday reported 53 more COVID-19 deaths, most of which happened in September, as well as 1,387 new infections logged over the weekend and a continued drop in hospitalizations.
Data from the state’s COVID-19 dashboard appeared to show that most of the newly reported deaths occurred in September.
COVID-19 deaths don’t always show up immediately in the state’s virus data. Sometimes they show up only after health officials review death certificates, a process that can sometimes take several weeks.
Government agencies rely on death certificates to report COVID-19 deaths. If a physician judges that a COVID-19 infection contributed to a person’s death, it is included on the death certificate and ultimately counted in the state’s official toll, health officials say.
Of the new deaths reported Monday, 31 occurred in September, five in August, 16 in October and one in November, according to the Department of Health and Social Services.
[Alaska coronavirus Q&A: Answering parents’ questions about vaccinating children]
September was already Alaska’s deadliest month of the pandemic, but the additional 29 resident deaths mean that 162 of the 764 Alaska residents whose deaths have been tied to the disease occurred during September 2021.
An epidemiologist with the state, Dr. Louisa Castrodale, said she expects the state is likely finished reporting most COVID-19 deaths in September, but that there would probably more reported for the month of October.
“I would guess we’re going to have a bunch more October deaths,” she said.
In addition, three more nonresident deaths were reported Monday, which means a total of 30 nonresidents had deaths associated with the virus in Alaska since the start of the pandemic. Two of those deaths occurred in September and one in August.
[New Alaska data traces disproportionate experiences of COVID-19 by race, gender and vaccination status]
The state reported 445 new cases on Saturday, 641 Sunday and 301 Monday.
Last week, Alaska health officials said the state was finally seeing a drop in daily case counts after weeks of plateau. While COVID-19 numbers reported over weekends tend to be lower, Castrodale said every day with a smaller case count makes health officials feel slightly more comfortable saying Alaska is on a decreasing trend.
The portion of COVID-19 tests returning positive results was 7.6% Monday based on a seven-day rolling average, a drop from a peak of 10.9% in mid-October.
Since July, a COVID-19 surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant has caused a sharp rise in hospitalizations and deaths around Alaska and stretched the state’s health care system to a breaking point.
There were 128 people hospitalized with COVID-19 by Monday, state dashboard data showed, with about 13.6% of the state’s hospitalized patients considered to have active cases of the virus. That’s a decrease from recent weeks, when often one in five patients had a case of the virus.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
Correction: A previous version of this story included an incorrect breakdown of new deaths by month.