Independent commercial fishermen now have their COVID-19 marching orders from state officials, a list of protective measures, procedures, travel and access measures they must abide by, as the influx of seafood workers begins in Cordova.
While the state of Alaska on Friday, April 24, reopened more of the economy, including dining in at restaurants for those with reservations only, Cordova’s city council issued a new emergency order requiring all non-essential businesses to remain closed until May 20.
Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin said on Sunday, April 26 that the opening date for non-essential businesses could change to be earlier or later than May 20, depending on the impact of the pandemic on the city. To date there have been no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus documented here.
State health officials said two additional cases of COVID-19 infection have brought the total number of infections statewide to 341. They include one person in a long-term care facility in Sitka and another in North Pole, near Fairbanks. State corrections officials also confirmed one case at the Goose Creek Correctional Center in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which will be added to the statewide total on Monday, April 27, because it was reported after midnight on Sunday, April 26.
State Health Mandate 17, issued on Thursday, April 23, requires that vessel captains maintain a ship’s log which includes information certifying that crew members were screened upon arrival and their temperatures taken, and that arriving crew proceeded directly to the vessel or their designated self-quarantine location.
The city council’s latest emergency order is online at covid19.cityofcordova.net.
A list of all current state mandates is online at covid19.alaska.gov.
Koplin said he has been focused more on processor workers and harvesters arriving in advance of the Copper River salmon fishing opener in mid-May, to be sure all resources and guidelines are in place to keep the community safe. People coming from out of town, especially where the virus has had a big impact, are taking it more seriously than people in Cordova, Koplin said. Everyone arriving at the airport is wearing a mask, he said.
Cathy Renfeldt, executive director for the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, said response to the city’s newest emergency order, restricting non-essential businesses from opening through May 20, has been mixed.
“Some businesses were ready to open on Friday, until they heard from the city that that was not a possibility,” she said. “There was some confusion. Business owners are really stressed out. We have a larger than normal percentage of small businesses who have put their heart and soul into this.”
Small businesses are finding that federal economic relief efforts in particular are not very easy to negotiate; sometimes it takes weeks to hear back and sometimes they don’t hear back at all, she said. The federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Paycheck Protection funds have run out, and chambers of commerce, which are trying to support these local businesses, are left out in the cold for federal financial aid, she said.
Cordova families have experienced a lot of stress, as their children can’t play with their friends, and parents have had to take on the tasks of homeschooling. Several in the community have responded with outreach for counseling, she said. There is also now an online evening story hour for youngsters, Current Rhythms has online yoga classes and the Morning Music program is working to get online too, she said.
Meanwhile the Cordova Chamber of Commerce is starting to think about recovery plans for the community, she said. Information is online for the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, normally an economic boost for the city.
“We are just trying to hang on and rebuild,” Renfeldt said.
State officials, having earlier loosened restrictions on some medical and dental procedures, also announced that some businesses closed earlier to stem the spread of the virus, including restaurants and hair salons, would be allowed to start reopening on Friday, April 24, under specific guidelines.
