Anchorage ICUs are at capacity amid a surge of COVID-19 patients

Staffing and bed shortages have hospitals scrambling. Plus: Three Alaska Airlines employees die of COVID in a month as leadership moves toward a vaccination mandate. Email not displaying correctly? [View the web version]( [Anchorage Daily News]( Support independent reporting on what Alaskans care about most. [Subscribe today.]( Good afternoon. It’s Wednesday, August 18. In today's newsletter: - Anchorage ICUs are at capacity as a surge of COVID-19 patients has hospitals under stress and scrambling. - Three Alaska Airlines employees die of COVID in a month as leadership moves toward a vaccination mandate. - Foo Fighters mark the return of big live events in Anchorage at a tense moment in the pandemic. Heads up, Anchorage drivers: Starting on Friday, [a section of Tudor Road will be completely closed for two weeks]( in the Campbell Park neighborhood for water main repairs. City officials say the full closure will last through Sept. 3, with a partial closure coming later in September. ⛅ Anchorage weather Partly sunny this afternoon with a high near 65. Some fog is expected to roll in overnight and linger until about 10 a.m. tomorrow, but otherwise Thursday is looking mostly sunny. Here’s what else is making headlines in Alaska today. — Ryan Cunningham, rcunningham@adn.com [Anchorage ICUs at capacity as a surge of COVID-19 patients has hospitals under stress and scrambling ]( [Anchorage ICUs at capacity as a surge of COVID-19 patients has hospitals under stress and scrambling]( Alaska’s intensive-care system is maxed out. Nurses face constant pressure to work extra shifts. High-level managers are handling bedside patient care. Some critical care patients end up in beds outside the ICU, increasing their mortality risk. Some critical care nurses are seeing COVID-19 deaths in patients younger than they are. Hospital officials say they don’t see a quick end to capacity problems without a change in behavior, like broad vaccination or masking. [Read More]( [Three Alaska Airlines employees die of COVID in a month as leadership moves toward vaccination mandate]( [Three Alaska Airlines employees die of COVID in a month as leadership moves toward vaccination mandate]( A person with knowledge of Alaska Air’s COVID-19 response and these specific cases says all three employees were unvaccinated. Most recently, an Anchorage-based Alaska Airlines captain died of COVID-19 on Sunday, shortly after testing positive. The deaths came as the airline is on the cusp of a decision to make vaccinations mandatory for employees, with some religious and medical exemptions. [Read More]( [Foo Fighters mark return of big live events in Anchorage at a tense pandemic moment ]( [Foo Fighters mark return of big live events in Anchorage at a tense pandemic moment]( Foo Fighters played to a packed crowd at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage on Tuesday night, the first time the city has hosted a major touring musical act since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the first large event here to require proof of vaccination or virus testing for entry. The rock concert comes at a tenuous juncture: With [hospitals straining capacity](, the state recorded [459 new virus cases and five deaths]( Tuesday. [Read More]( [AIDEA board approves foreclosure sale for failed North Slope drilling project]( [AIDEA board approves foreclosure sale for failed North Slope drilling project]( Leaders of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority approved a plan to find a buyer for the partially complete Mustang oil project that faces "severe financial difficulties," according to the board's resolution. The chief investment officer for AIDEA says the project could still net the state upwards of $200 million in taxes and royalties if it is fully developed. [Read More]( [Masks, hand sanitizer and first-day excitement — thousands of students across Anchorage go back to school in-person]( [Masks, hand sanitizer and first-day excitement — thousands of students across Anchorage go back to school in-person]( Thousands of first through 12th grade students returned to class in the Anchorage School District on Tuesday. The school district prioritized starting the year with students in classrooms, with a plan aimed at keeping ASD "symptom-free." "I’m really excited because I get to meet my old friends from second grade and I can play with them on the playground," says 8-year-old Rayden Corscadden. [Read More]( More from the ADN [Five deaths, 459 cases of COVID-19 reported in Alaska on Tuesday as hospitalizations continue to rise]( [Five deaths, 459 cases of COVID-19 reported in Alaska on Tuesday as hospitalizations continue to rise]( [Read More]( [With coronavirus vaccine effectiveness waning, booster shots are expected to become available in September, officials say]( [With coronavirus vaccine effectiveness waning, booster shots are expected to become available in September, officials say]( [Read More]( [Plane carrying 9 lands safely after unexpectedly plunging thousands of feet during flight, NTSB says]( [Plane carrying 9 lands safely after unexpectedly plunging thousands of feet during flight, NTSB says]( [Read More]( [Mayor Bronson replaces head of Solid Waste Services with father of former campaign manager]( [Anchorage Mayor Bronson replaces head of Solid Waste Services]( [Read More]( [Sitka hopes docking deal will spur boom in cruise ship passenger visits next year]( [Sitka hopes docking deal will spur boom in cruise ship passenger visits next year]( [Read More]( The ADN relies on readers like you. 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