After weeks of being in the low alert level for positive COVID-19 cases, all regions of the Kenai Peninsula have now moved into the high alert level. The peninsula now is at 13.2o cases per 100,000 people compared to 9.6 cases per 100,000 statewide. Anything over 10 cases per 100,000 is considered high.

According to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s COVID-19 dashboard, the central peninsula had 61 cases over the past 14 days, the southern peninsula had 39 cases and the eastern peninsula had 39 case. Locally, Homer had 27 cases, Anchor Point had 10 and the other peninsula south had 2.

In Friday’s report from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, for the days of July 14 and 15, there were 264 resident cases of COVID-19 and 20 nonresident cases. For the peninsula, Homer had 14 cases, Kenai had 10, Anchor Point had seven, Seward had two, Soldotna had two, Sterling had one and the peninsula south had one. There also were three nonresident cases for Homer, two for Kenai, one for Seward and one for Soldotna. For the southern peninsula, there were 25 total cases.

Elsewhere in Alaska, the cases counts for the previous two days are as follows: Anchorage (115), Sitka (38), Cordova (17), Fairbanks (8), Wasilla (8), Juneau (5), Kodiak (4), Hooper Bay (3), North Pole (3), Palmer (3), Petersburg (3), Bethel (2), Bethel Census Area (2), Chugiak (2), Eagle River (2), Skagway (2), and one each in Chevak, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Girdwood, Healy, Kotzebue, Kusilvak Census Area, Northwest Arctic Borough, Willow and (2) unknown locations.

Since the pandemic began, there have been a total of 1,665 hospitalizations and 374 resident deaths, with seven new hospitalizations. Currently 56 patients with COVID-19 are hospitalized, with one under investigation. Eight patients are on ventilators.

The total number of positive tests for Alaskans is 69,453 and the total number of nonresident cases is 2,987. The current positive test rate is 5.2.%.

The state vaccination rate for people age 12 and older who are fully vaccinated is 51%. For the peninsula, the rate is 44%, the second lowest in the state.

According to the weekly summary from DHSS, as of Jan. 1, 97% of all cases, 96% of all hospitalizations, and 98% of all deaths to date were in people who were not fully vaccinated.

“Choosing to get vaccinated is the single most important action you can take to protect yourself and your community and to reopen our economy,” DHSS said in today’s update.

Reach Michael Armstrong at marmstrong@homernews.com.