The City of Bethel could soon lose nearly half its police force following a new vaccine mandate.

By Friday, a total of 208 people were fighting COVID-19 in Alaska hospitals, up from 206 on Thursday. Twenty-seven of the COVID-19 patients were on ventilators.

While just a handful of cases among unhoused people in Ketchikan have been reported, it’s difficult to trace contacts and there is not a lot of space to isolate and quarantine.

A city official says its arrival is all the more reason to get vaccinated and continue other preventative measures, like masking and social distancing.

It seems everyone had a moment when the pandemic hit home — when we realized the coronavirus was not going away quickly and would change everything.

Xenia Jackson’s first experience with a pandemic was during the tuberculosis outbreaks of the 20th century when she worked as a village health aide. She tested positive for COVID-19 last year and is one of the first people to get vaccinated in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Only three Haines residents have tested positive for the coronavirus since the Dec. 2 disaster, according to state data. But according to the Haines Emergency Operations Center, those people have Haines addresses. None are actually in town.

Alaska lawmakers who each year relocate to a capital city accessible only by plane or boat are facing challenges in getting settled ahead of what is expected to be a difficult legislative session overshadowed by COVID-19.

The number of hospitalizations in Alaska because of COVID-19 also reached record levels.

The first case of the cluster was reported two weeks ago and after that employees were tested twice weekly regardless of symptoms.