As temperatures cool, the number of COVID-19 cases in Alaska is increasing.
According to health officials, Alaska managed to survive the surge in late July, but this time it feels different. This is partly due to seasonal changes. As temperatures cool, Alaskans spend more time indoors, where the virus is most susceptible.
“This fall and winter will be a big deal,” Dr. Ann Zink, the state’s chief health officer, said in a phone call to reporters last week. “It’s going to test Alaska’s resilience.”
Last week, Alaska cassette record For the newest coronavirus infection of the day, and last Friday, the average percentage of tests that returned positive exceeded 5% for the first time. The number of cases every day is 3 digits for more than 3 weeks. Currently, the state-wide community is in the category with the highest alerts. Predefined More than 10 cases per 100,000 people.
Hospital capacity has been stable so far, with state per capita mortality rates, according to state data. Lowest in the whole countryState health officials have expressed concern about the surge in cases towards winter.
This is a problem that will not go away quickly, especially in Alaska. The days get shorter and it just gets colder.
Janet Johnston, an epidemiologist at the Anchorage Department of Health, said:
“After Labor Day, I didn’t see the spikes I was worried about. But after that, the days were getting shorter, cooler, more internal mixing, and that. I feel that is a great driving force, “Johnston said.
One of the major challenges towards winter is the changing nature of how the virus spreads, says state health officials.
In response, state and local officials questioned the success of the “social bubble” last week. This is a group of small friends and family that some Alaskans stick to as a way to stay sane and socialize safely.
According to Johnston, bubbles only work if they are fairly tightly guarded.
It’s getting harder and harder as some children go back to school and many adults go back to work.
“When people were really at home, it was easy to do a bubble during the’hanker down’,” she said. “But we’re doing more,” she added, adding that many of Anchorage’s clusters are tied to small families and groups of friends.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say,’My bubbles are safe,'” Zinc said. It’s a big fire hose, but I think I just took out a bucket of COVID and spread it from one small group to another. “
“If you really can force that bubble, I think it’s okay,” Johnston said. “But I think it’s getting harder and harder to do that.”
Another major concern when Alaskans go indoors is how to make indoor spaces as safe as possible and the role that building ventilation systems play in reducing infections.
The new coronavirus spreads primarily through close contact with people indoors, but new evidence suggests that the virus can spread more than six feet by airborne transmission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Guidelines Updated last week.
Jack Hebert, founder and former CEO of Fairbanks’ Center for Cold Climate Housing Research, said that ensuring that some ventilation strategy was implemented in residential and commercial buildings could slightly reduce this risk. ..
“In warm places, the doors and windows are open and you have access to the open air just to wash the house, so you’re less likely to pick up the virus trapped there,” he said. “In Alaska (winter), we don’t.”
Instead, there are several other methods that Alaskan people use to ventilate their homes, Hebert said, Alaska has always been in their ventilation system for general health and safety reasons. He emphasized that it is important to pay attention-whether COVID-19 or not.
But from the point of view of the ventilation system The ability to eliminate the coronavirus is questionable, Hebert said.
“I don’t want to take away the importance of commercial buildings, office buildings and homes in maintaining these ventilation systems,” he said. “But ventilation systems cannot eliminate viruses like coronaviruses. They can provide more and healthier air. But indoor environments are always more of a concern than outdoors.”
Ultimately, he said having a properly functioning ventilation system should be only part of the puzzle.
“Really, keeping the bubble small and paying attention in public makes the biggest difference,” Hebert said.
