Pandemic-weary hospitals in Alaska are facing mounting pressures on staffing and non-COVID-19 patient volume. Now, virus cases in the state have shattered daily records in a surge driven by the ultra-contagious but often less-severe omicron variant.
Buddy Whitt was swabbed at the Capstone COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at 4810 C Street in Anchorage on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, in preparation to travel through Canada on his way to Juneau for the legislative session.
The latest developments have dealt yet another blow to an exhausted health care workforce, and come just months after a delta-driven surge pushed many of the state’s hospitals close to a breaking point. At the same time, Bernstein said he’s cautiously optimistic about the coming weeks given that the variant seems less severe, many people likely have some level of existing immunity through vaccine or prior infection, plus there are some newer oral antiviral medicines. As of Wednesday, about 63.3% of Alaskans 5 and older have received at least their first vaccine dose while 57.9% were considered fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday, 38 employees, including 28 hospital staffers, were out across the Foundation Health Partners System — the highest total since the start of the pandemic, according to spokesperson Kelly Atlee. The number of employees missing work has sharply increased in the past week. Since the start of the pandemic, 953 Alaskans and 32 nonresidents in the state have died from the virus. That includes five deaths reported Wednesday, all involving Anchorage residents: a man in his 50s, two men in their 60s and a man and a woman in their 70s.
“As we’ve gone longer and longer into this pandemic, the ability to manage chronic diseases at home may be compromised over time,” he said. “It seems like we’re having more of those lately.”
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Questions surround the COVID-19 omicron variant's relationship with long-haul COVIDLong-haul COVID is described as having symptoms more than months after an initial infection.
Lire la suite »
COVID In Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Wolf Says Vaccine Is Strategy To Fight COVID-19, Not Shutdowns'THE VACCINE IS OUR STRATEGY' l Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday brushed aside questions about whether he will issue more orders for shutdowns as cases of the omicron variant of COVID-19 spread quickly and fill Pennsylvania’s hospitals with unvaccinated patients
Lire la suite »
Bad weather and rising COVID-19 cases contribute to some empty shelves in Alaska grocery storesRoads and port terminals in Washington closed recently, leading to reduced shipments headed to Alaska. Rising COVID cases have compounded the problem.
Lire la suite »
Ahead of session, Alaska Republicans propose measures to limit COVID-19 responseAlaska state legislators have pre-filed 58 new bills ahead of the Legislature’s Jan. 18 start, and almost a quarter of them propose to limit public and private responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
Lire la suite »
Alaska shatters single-day COVID-19 record with 4,381 resident cases reported over last 2 daysThe state of Alaska reported more than 4,000 additional COVID-19 infections among Alaska residents over the last two days, breaking the previous record for the highest number of cases reported in a single day as the rapid spread of omicron continues.
Lire la suite »
Utah Gov. Cox bucks county-wide mask mandates, exempts state-run facilties from COVID-19 maskingGov. Spencer Cox’s issued a memo on Monday exempting state-run facilities from enforcing county-wide mask mandates for state workers and visitors.
Lire la suite »