The addition of 11 more people testing positive for the novel coronavirus pushed the total number of infected Alaskans to 246 on Good Friday, April 10, with 55 people now recovered.
State officials continue to urge everyone to wash their hands frequently, wear masks when out in public shopping and keep at least six feet from others not in their immediate family, even on Easter Sunday.
“It’s going to be an Easter unlike any other in our lifetime,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy, during a media teleconference. “It’s going to be tough, but we need to be six feet apart, wash hands, wear a face mask.”
Alaska’s death toll through noon of April 10 stood at eight, including a Fairbanks woman with underlying health issues who died that morning.
Those newly testing positive for the virus include three in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, which has the fastest growing population in the state.
Alaska so far has fewer people testing positive for COVID-19 than any other state.
Nationwide some 521,481 people have tested positive, 20,064 have died and 29,100 have so far recovered. In the hardest hit state, New York 180,458 people have tested positive and 8,627 have succumbed to the virus.
State officials have imposed several mandates that have closed all K-12 schools in the state down for the rest of the school year and ordered postponement of a number of medical procedures they deemed elective, citing the need to preserve medical supplies to prepare urban and rural Alaska for an anticipated surge of more people testing positive.
State officials also announced they were suspending the deadlines for a number of fees and recertifications, as well as fees for restaurants that have closed or are operating at reduced capacity due to the virus and the health candidates,” Dunleavy said.
More information on the state’s economic recovery plan is online at gov.alaska.gov/home/covid-19-economy.
The state’s economy has meanwhile been smacked sideways by the combination of low oil prices and the number of businesses forced to close or limit their activity in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected over 1.7 million people worldwide and killed upwards of 102,970. Some 36,000 Alaskans are now jobless and trying to apply for unemployment, a process slowed by a lack of enough employees and equipment issues.
“We are working real hard to get the economy going again,” Dunleavy said. “We are trying to mitigate damage to the economy.”
Still the governor had no specific answers yet on when and how that would begin to happen.
In response to questions posed by small communities, including Cordova, on their right to impose their own restrictions on those coming into the community, the governor noted that some of them, including Cordova, had medical facilities that are considered critical access hospitals, so they could not shut down airports, which are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, in an effort to keep people who might be infected from coming into the community.
As for the right of these communities to impose a 14-day quarantine on everyone coming into town, Dunleavy said that was an issue subject to discussion with these communities. Such a quarantine would not be advisable, for example, if a diesel mechanic came to fix the community’s generator and had to quarantine for 14 days in town before he could fix it.
He said discussions with these communities was needed to come to an agreement on how to handle such situations.
Those newly testing positive for the virus include three in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, which has the fastest growing population in the state.
Alaska so far has fewer people testing positive for COVID-19 than any other state.
Nationwide some 521,481 people have tested positive, 20,057 have died and 29,100 have so far recovered. In the hardest hit state, New York 180,458 people have tested positive and 8,627 have succumbed to the virus.
State officials have imposed several mandates that have closed all K-12 schools in the state down for the rest of the school year and ordered postponement of a number of medication procedures they deemed elective, citing the need to preserve medical supplies to prepare urban and rural Alaska for an anticipated surge of more people testing positive.
The state’s economy has meanwhile been smacked sideways by the combination of low oil prices and the number of businesses forced to close or limit their activity in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected over 1.7 million people worldwide and killed upwards of 102,970. Some 36,000 Alaskans are now jobless and trying to apply for unemployment, a process slowed by a lack of enough employees and equipment issues.
“We are working real hard to get the economy going again,” Dunleavy said. “We are trying to mitigate damage to the economy.”
Still the governor had no specific answers yet on when and how that would begin to happen.
In response to questions posed by small communities, including Cordova, on their right to impose their own restrictions on those coming into the community, the governor noted that some of them, including Cordova, had medical facilities that are considered critical access hospitals, so they could not shut down airports, which are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, in an effort to keep people who might be infected from coming into the community.
As for the right of these communities to impose a 14-day quarantine on everyone coming into town, Dunleavy said that was an issue subject to discussion with these communities. Such a quarantine would not be advisable, for example, if a diesel mechanic came to fix the community’s generator and had to quarantine for 14 days in town before he could fix it.
He said discussions with these communities was needed to come to an agreement on how to handle such situations.
