Juneau’s 14-day COVID-19 recap: July 25 – Aug. 8

Over the 14-day period from July 25 to August 8, there were 138 people in the Juneau community who tested positive for COVID-19 (that’s down from 169 during the previous two weeks):

• 8 percent of the cases were associated with two clusters: a restaurant cluster that included eight positive cases has concluded with all eight recovered; a second cluster involving an out of town youth sports event currently has 10 active cases with none yet recovered.
• Public Health attributed 39 percent of cases to secondary transmission, 21 percent to community spread, 12 percent to out-of-state travel, and 28 percent of the cases remain under investigation.
• 47 percent of the cases were among individuals who were fully vaccinated (vaccine breakthrough); 53 percent were unvaccinated or still completing their vaccine series. 0.31 percent of the fully-vaccinated population contracted COVID-19; 0.67 percent of the population who were not fully vaccinated were COVID-positive. Severity of cases among vaccine breakthrough cases and unvaccinated cases is not available at the local level, but at the statewide level, 94 percent of all cases, 94 percent of all hospitalizations, and 97 percent of deaths among Alaska residents from January 1 through July 31, 2021 were in people who were not fully vaccinated. According to the CDC, vaccine breakthrough cases are expected. COVID-19 vaccines are effective and are a critical tool to bring the pandemic under control. However, no vaccines are 100 percent effective at preventing illness in vaccinated people. While there will be a small percentage of fully vaccinated people who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19, there is some evidence that vaccination may make illness less severe for those who are vaccinated and still get sick.
• 75 percent of cases were contacted for contact tracing within 24 hours of a positive test being returned. Public Health continues to have difficulty with contact tracing due to the volume of positives, the number of close contacts among positives, and some hesitancy once individuals are contacted to fully cooperate in the contact tracing process.
• There is case positivity spread across all age and racial groups.

The overall community risk level is modified Level 3 High. The 7- and 14-day case rates remain elevated at the very high alert level. The Delta variant is driving case transmission locally and statewide. The community is urged to be cautious. Everyone regardless of vaccination status is now required to mask when indoors in public places. It is highly recommended that individuals limit social contact to mitigate disease spread and allow for effective contact tracing. Individuals should test immediately if they have even mild symptoms. Travelers arriving/returning to Juneau are also encouraged to take a free test at the airport. The single most effective strategy to mitigate COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.

Vaccine update:

• 69.7 percent of the total population of Juneau has received at least 1 dose of vaccine and 65.7 percent has completed the vaccine series.
• 91.6 percent of the population in Juneau age 65+ has received at least one dose of vaccine and 89 percent has completed the vaccine series.

For more information, read the full Emergency Operations Center Reports, which include weekly recaps, here.