Copper Valley Covid Rate Is Off The Charts For End Of March

Copper Valley Is In The Red When It Comes To Covid... And That's Not Good 

CDC Case Rate Graphs 

March, 2023

Copper Valley People Are 10 Times More Likely To Get Covid Than Anchorage People Are 

The Copper Valley, which is now listed in its own census area, has the second-worst Covid rate in Alaska this month. If you live in the Copper Valley, you're ten times more likely to catch Covid right now than if you lived in Anchorage. 

Despite our tiny population, the Copper Valley is the second most infectious place to get Covid in late March, says the state of Alaska. Graphs by the Alaska Department of Health show that only the Northwest Arctic Borough has a higher Covid rate.

Even though the figures are stark, they might not reflect how bad it really is. Medical care in the Copper Valley is highly curtailed at the moment. Clinics are open only 5 days a week during standard work hours. Covid testing is completely optional, and people can willingly refuse to test. Also, nobody is obligated to report they have Covid to anyone, even if they are very ill. 

Not only are you more likely to get sick, you're also less likely to be treated. 

CHECK OUT THE ANCHORAGE CASE RATE 

Anchorage has a population of around 300,000 people. 

By comparison, the Copper Valley's population is only around 3,000 people. So Anchorage's population is 100 times more than the Copper Valley's population. 

When It Comes To Covid, 40 Is "Old"

Meanwhile, nationwide, Covid is killing off large numbers of older people, who are a minority of the population. Here's a chart showing the percentage of 60-year-old and older people who are dying of Covid (purple bar). 

But, "old" on this chart seems to start at the alarmingly young age of 40, when there's a dramatic surge of deaths (green bar).