Health

On Jan. 6, two people in the region died from complications with COVID-19. One of the individuals was in their 50s; the other was in their 60s. Also that day, a person with COVID-19 was medevaced out of the region for advanced medical care.

In mid-December, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation received enough Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for just over 2,000 people to receive two doses of the vaccine. By the end of the year, about 1,120 people in the region had been vaccinated with at least one dose. YKHC is continuing to vaccinate people against the virus into the new year.

The overall number of new, confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is declining, but the number of severe infections requiring hospitalization and medevacs is increasing. According to YKHC Public Information Officer Gage Hoffman, the health corporation has traced many of these severe infections to Christmas gatherings.

The COVID-19 outbreak at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center is winding down. There are currently 13 active cases among inmates, but on Dec. 16 there were 75. 

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation has been reporting lower numbers of new COVID-19 cases recently. Over the past two weeks, an average of 23 new cases have been reported per day.

On Monday, Dec. 28, Bethel’s homeless shelter opened its new building, which formerly housed the town’s senior center, to guests for the first time. Jon Cochrane, with Bethel Winter House, said that it’s exciting to finally have a homeless shelter that will be open all year round, not just in the winter.

People are drinking more as they struggle to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Tiffany Hall, with Recover Alaska, said that survey statistics indicate that people are using both drugs and alcohol more than they were before the pandemic began.