Thread by @AP

The highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading across Alaska, driving one of the United States’ sharpest upticks in infection and posing risks for remote outposts where the closest hospital is hours away. apne.ws/H6k3og4

Much of Alaska’s health system is centered in Anchorage, where the state's largest hospital was the first to declare crisis-of-care protocols weeks ago — meaning doctors must sometimes prioritize who to care for based on odds of survival. apne.ws/Mwzhwk9

Since then, 19 other health care facilities in Alaska have entered crisis care mode. And options in Seattle and Portland, Oregon are also being overloaded.

One rural clinic found a spot for a patient from interior Alaska at a Colorado hospital. apne.ws/u5XcVuP

Health officials blame the hospital crunch on limited staffing, rising COVID-19 infections and low vaccination rates. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, one in every 84 people in Alaska was diagnosed with COVID-19 from Sept. 22 to 29. apne.ws/OWnPoqZ

Earlier this year, the rural village of Tanacross put up a gate on the only road into town and guarded it around the clock. It was a tactic used a century ago in some isolated villages to protect against the 1918-19 flu pandemic. apne.ws/MetHlaR

But even residents of Tanacross worry about the larger cities, where hospitals are overwhelmed, and care is still limited. “If somebody gets sick around there, there’s no place to take them,” said Alfred Jonathan, a Tanacross elder. apne.ws/GKQ8TOS

Joyce Johnson-Albert was vaccinated but caught a breakthrough case of the virus.   

“I just hope the next few days, I’ll be getting a little better than now,” she said from a bed at the Upper Tanana Health Center, the primary center for six villages. apne.ws/6Kajh7Y