The mayors of Anchorage and Juneau are calling on Gov. Mike Dunleavy to extend a state-mandated 14-day quarantine for people coming into Alaska.
Without further action, the mandate will expire Tuesday.
“I’ve encouraged the governor to continue with the quarantine for a while, but it’s really a decision he has to make,” Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said during a community briefing Friday afternoon.
Berkowitz said he has pushed the governor to extend the quarantine mandate via phone, in person and in the media.
Dunleavy said earlier in the week that he is considering whether to extend the mandate. Berkowitz said he believes his talks with Dunleavy have been fruitful, and he expects a decision shortly.
“I believe he’s going to have some announcements on that later on today,” Berkowitz said.
“The community and the Assembly remain concerned about the prospect of lifting the interstate travel restrictions,” Weldon wrote. “In part because Juneau, along with other towns in Southeast, have limited entry through airport, ferry, and private boat, the virus spread will likely be through increased travel into our community this summer.”
Anchorage, likewise, could see an increase in cases from travel, as it holds the state’s busiest airport.
Alaska has one of the lowest coronavirus case rates in the nation. The travel quarantine mandate is believed to be a critical tool in keeping Alaska rates from spiking.
“Even as we are easing up on the restrictions that we put in place to safeguard public health, we need to remember that the public health threat is very real, that the virus is still out there, that the disease is afflicting hundreds of thousands of Americans as we speak,” Berkowitz said. “If we open ourselves too rapidly, make ourselves too vulnerable, it can have a dramatic impact here.”
During Friday’s community briefing, Anchorage Health Department Director Natasha Pineda said as long as the state is seeing travel-related cases of the coronavirus, the quarantine mandate should remain in place.
However, such a policy takes an economic toll. If travelers have to self-quarantine for two weeks upon entering the state, they likely will stay home, impacting Alaska businesses that rely on tourist dollars.
Berkowitz said there should also be airport screening to check travelers for symptoms.
“It would be of great comfort if the disease levels were a lot less in the Lower 48, and in places that are coming to Alaska, than they are right now,” Berkowitz said.
While the quarantine is in place through an emergency mandate, compliance is essentially voluntary as the state does not aggressively enforce the rule.
But Berkowitz said that system has worked.
“People will do the right thing, and that is by far the overwhelming response,” he said.
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Anchorage mayor joins Juneau's in pushing state to extend 14-day quarantine for incoming travelers - Anchorage Daily News
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