Iditarod announces COVID-19 mitigation plan

A multi-tiered COVID-19 mitigation plan is in the works for the 49th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a trek which itself commemorates the intrepid huskies and mushers who raced to Nome in five and a half days with serum to quell a diphtheria outbreak.

“We can’t over-plan, and we have already begun embedding hyper adaptivity into our operations to ensure that flexible and nimble best practices are ‘at the ready’,” Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach said. “These challenges and the Iditarod are synonymous.”

While the aim of the 1925 serum was to keep the diphtheria from spreading in Nome and the surrounding villages, the Iditarod Trail Committee now deals with keeping the novel coronavirus from spreading during the race. The event involves several dozen mushers and their dogs, residents of communities along the trail, several hundred volunteers and thousands of fans from all over the world, many of whom come to Alaska to watch portions of the race.

The plan will outline specific safety protocols for various scenarios, contingency drills and rapid responsiveness, with a goal of zero community transmission, Urbach said.

The plan is to address every facet of the race, from the rookie meeting to food drops to protocols on the trail, all to ensure race activities adapt COVID-19 precautions while preserving social consciousness and ensuring stringent risk mitigation protocols, ITC officials said.

The ITC is working with state health officials, the municipality of Anchorage, mushers, village leaders, Nome city officials and veterinarians, plus infectious disease specialist Dr. Jodie Guest of Emory University, a longtime Iditarod volunteer.

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“For me, the Iditarod is a family event,” Dr. Guest said. “I’ve volunteered on the race’s logistics team since 2010 in Unalakleet, McGrath and Galena. My dad has been a race veterinarian for 12 years and my son volunteered for the first time this past year. Being able to provide epidemiology expertise to a sport I love is an exciting opportunity as we ensure this race will continue safely in 2021 and beyond.”

Since March, Dr. Guest has been leading Emory’s outbreak response team for COVID-19.

More information on the ITC plans for Iditarod 2021 are to be announced in coming months.

Find out more at iditarod.com.

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