Alaskans who end up in the hospital for treatment of COVID-19 are spending a lot less time in the hospital than they were at the beginning of the pandemic, which reached Alaska in March.
Avg length of hospital stay in March was 11.8 days. By June, that average stay dropped to 8.8 days. And in September, it was 6.7 days.
Dunleavy said that the medical community in Alaska is getting a better handle on how to deal with the virus, and that although the rates of infection are higher, due to loosening up of restrictions, the treatments are keeping people out of the hospital.
“Hospitalization is holding steady here in Alaska,” he said.
Alaska has fared better with COVID-19 than peer states, he said, citing a report by Evergreen Economics.
“Our health care capacity is holding,” he said.
Today’s COVID-19-positive count was 204, and Dunleavy said he expects the number of cases will continue to rise.
