Gov. Mike Dunleavy has issued an administrative order affirming that vaccine passports will not be required of visitors or residents in order to travel around Alaska.
“There will be no vaccine passports under my watch,” said the governor, who signed Administrative Order 321 on Monday, April 26.
Beginning June 1, the COVID-19 vaccine will be available for anyone traveling to Alaska who chooses to be vaccinated.
Dunleavy, himself recovered from a bout of COVID-19, said Alaska has led the nation in its response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“With high vaccination rates, we are seeing our economy come back to life and welcoming travelers to our state,” he said. “As I have said from the beginning, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a private health decision best left between Alaskans and their doctor. I am unequivocally opposed to any government order requiring Alaskans to get this vaccine or using an individual’s vaccine status as a means of restricting their rights.”
Through April 26, a total of 67,509 people were confirmed infected with COVID-19 in Alaska, including 64,786 residents and 2,723 nonresidents, resulting in 1,509 hospitalizations and the deaths of 341 residents and six nonresidents. The new death toll included residents who died over the past several months, whose deaths were confirmed through a review of death certificates.
The new three-day case load included:
- Anchorage, 86
- Wasilla, 52
- North Pole, 32
- Palmer, 30
- Tok, 10
- Soldotna, 8
- River, Northwest arctic Borough, Utqiagvik, 7
- Ketchikan, 5
- Kenai, Kusilvak Census Area, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, 4
- Chugiak, Juneau, 3
- Bethel Census Area, Big Lake, Copper River Census Area, Craig, Kodiak, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, 2
- Delta Junction, Denali Borough, Dillingham, Ester, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Haines, Homer, Hoonah-Angoon and Yakutat, Kenai Peninsula Borough South, Seward, Sitka, Skagway, Sutton-Alpine, Unalaska, Valdez, Willow and four locations under investigation, 1
Eleven new nonresident cases included five in Fairbanks, two in Valdez and one each in Anchorage, Northwest Arctic Borough, Prudhoe Bay and Wasilla.
Five of the 39 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 or under investigation for possible infection are on ventilators.
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services said that 49.2% of Alaskans age 16 and older have now received at least their first dose of the vaccine, but also noted that 430 new cases of the virus were confirmed from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25, along with the deaths of 12 Alaskans and one nonresident.
