Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel Winfree has ordered all who visit courthouses and court facilities in Alaska to wear face masks.
He also said that visitors may be required to undergo screening protocol with questions about whether the visitor has had flu-like symptoms, been ordered to quarantine, or been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Alaska has seen increased Covid-19 case counts and the prevalence of the Delta variant, Winfree wrote in his order.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends people who live in an area of substantial or high coronavirus transmission wear masks in indoor public spaces, regardless of vaccination status. It also recommends vaccinated people with vulnerable household members, including young children and those who are immunocompromised, wear masks indoors in public spaces. The agency recently released information showing fully vaccinated people can spread the highly contagious Delta variant as readily as non-vaccinated people,” he wrote.
Court system officers or employees may exclude visitors who refuse to cooperate with this Order and those who fail the screening protocol, he said.
Winfree said judges may ask people to remove their masks for the purpose of “witness testimony, defendant identification, or making an appropriate record, provided that other protective measures are in place such as Plexiglas barriers.”
The number of Alaskans who are in the hospital with Covid is 100, as of this morning’s state report.
