Alaska is reporting its highest rate of COVID-19 transmission in six months, and hospital executives in the state are warning of a looming crisis as the hyper-contagious delta variant catches fire.
The last time case counts were this high it was mid-winter, Anchorage’s city government mandated mask-wearing in indoor public spaces, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration required visitors to be tested for the virus at Alaska’s airports.
But now that the COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, Alaska’s most powerful elected officials are taking little concrete action to slow the virus’s spread amid this latest spike in cases.