Anchorage eases up a bit, but masks still required as new capacity limits established

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Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson today has a new, more liberal emergency order to follow: Masks are still required in public, and some restaurant capacity has increased. Also, the previous midnight cutoff for alcohol service has been lifted.

The mayor long ago abandoned the goal of flattening the curve of infection form Covid-19. Now, there is no stated goal, but the new normal in Anchorage is a state of persistent emergency orders, changing mandates and rules, communication of fear about more dangerous variants of the coronavirus, and encouraging people to tighten their masks and stay away from others, as the country moves into the second year of the pandemic.

The rules for now are:

Gatherings are limited to 25 indoors with food, or 35 indoors without food; 60 outdoors with food and 100 outdoors without food.

Restaurants may open with physical distancing and masking of customers until they are seated and eating.

Entertainment venues may open with physical distancing and masking.

Gyms may open with physical distancing and masking.

Organized sports may have spectators allowed outdoors, and limited spectators allowed indoors. Indoor competitions within the municipality are allowed, but competition with teams outside of the municipality are allowed with pre-competition testing for Covid-19.

Retail stores are open with physical distancing and masking.

Personal care are open with physical distancing and masking.

Remote work is required whenever possible.

The municipality is taking a look at mandatory testing for incoming travelers, if the State does not continue testing at the Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport, the mayor said.

The new rules come with penalties. For those businesses and clubs that do not obey the Municipality, there are fines and mandatory suspensions of licenses, and closures of businesses, non-profits, and other entities for up to two weeks.

One year ago this week, Anchorage was in the middle of a buying spree for hand sanitizer, bleach and other disinfectants, as well as toilet paper and paper towels.

29 COMMENTS

  1. This is COMPLETELY(!!!) unrealistic and without merit. TOTALLY(!!!) a political stunt, only to feed hyper inflated egos and power trips. Com’ on … Open Up and Live Life! Start rebuilding and reestablishing businesses and personal lives.

  2. Look, folks, we can get all tied up in knots about how and why and what and when it comes to dealing with Covid 19, but the upshot is that it is in our best interests to defeat this bug and arguing about this and that and the other doesn’t get us there.
    We don’t yet have the bottom line on defeating Covid. We know there are some things that probably work and some that maybe work, but we don’t know what definitively does work, other than seriously distancing, so how about we try to get this bug under control and forget about the political ramifications of masking and distancing and hand washing. It’s easy to mask. It’s easy to wash your hands. It isn’t easy to distance.
    That’s the problem.
    So, how do we fix it? By denial? Good luck with that.
    We are an impatient species. We know that. We are communal. We like to be with others. We want to be with others. We need to be with others.. But for the well being of the community, it might be time to rethink about being with others. Is it for them or for us. If being with them is necessary for them to thrive, then we must take all precautions. If being with them is necessary for us to thrive, perhaps we need to rethink our priorities. Maybe six weeks, or three weeks, is enough to make it so we can do these things without exposing our loved ones to the virus. Sometimes, delayed gratification is an asset.

    • Yes! Remember that we just passed the one year anniversary of the two week lockdown to flatten the curve for an illness with mortality equivalent to a severe flu. And don’t discount all the extra deaths from drugs, suicides and missed screenings. My body, my choice.

    • We will.never defeat covid. It will be eith us for ever. This as a mutating virus. The shot will semi protect you only for the virus intended. The Chinese started a epidemic and should be liable. Beautiful day today . Enjoy your life because it may be a little shorter than normal.

    • Greg, you’re such an obedient commie. You really think we are going to defeat covid? When have we ever defeated a virus? How about the common cold? You’d have us in masks forever for a virus that kills less people than the flu. By the way… where is the flu? Where were the seasonal “Get your flu shot here” signs last fall? Why was the death toll for 2020 no higher than the year before? As for these worthless masks… has anybody had their oxygen levels tested while wearing a mask to not wearing one? I’d like to know the results.

    • You aren’t going to defeat Covid-19 with face diapers and gene therapies. Take you vitamin D, wash your hands and wait for enough people to catch it that we stop spreading it. Congratulations we win. (With SCIENCE!!!)

      • For those truly at risk there should be reasonable precautions by personal choice. For the rest of us VIVE LA LIBERTÉ!

    • Greg, Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty. or give me death.”
      The motto on the New Hampshire license plate once said, “LIVE FREE OR DIE”.
      I am a very firm believer in those principles, and the exact same sentiment, expressed in my own words, is, “If I have to GIVE UP MY FREEDOM to save my life, it IS NOT WORTH IT!”
      Pause and let that sink in, Greg,
      Now, if I feel so strongly that way about saving my OWN life, then just imagine how I feel about giving up my freedom to save YOURS..

    • Greg, if I have to give up my freedom to save my life, IT IS NOT WORTH IT!
      You know, Patrick Henry expressed the exact same sentiment when he said, “Give me liberty, or give me death. And, the exact same sentiment was expressed on the New Hampshire license plates with the motto “LIVE FREE OR DIE”.
      Now, if I feel so strongly that way about saving my OWN life, then just imagine how I feel about giving up my freedom to save your worthless carcass.

  3. I never went on a shopping spree for tree paper towels and wipes, nor hand santizer and extra cleaning products, nor extra canned and dry foods. Actually last year we saved the most money because of less places to spend money at Shopping, theaters, and dining out. They were all closed or required a mask -which is the same thing as closed.

  4. So, does anyone think that the restaurants will be able to instantly hire back the employees that they had to lay off? Definitely not when unemployment is so lucrative. And I for one am tired of jumping every time they say “boo”. What about next week? My arse is worn out. I’ll stick to my drive through until we re-mayor. Too little, too late Mayor. And what about the numbers being up? We all know that restaurants are super-spreaders. Is this about the upcoming election or what? Wish Texas wasn’t so hot, flat, and overpopulated. But they do need more people like you.

    • Where did you get the info about the muni.considering mandatory testing for incoming travelers?

      I’d like to be able to visit family. But I reserve the right to make my own healthcare decisions. I will not submit to a stranger shoving an object up any orifice in order to come home.

      This is not Nazi Germany.

      • But it is morphing into Fascist Anchorage.
        .
        Choice seems simple: visit family or obey Anchorage’s fraudulent führer…
        .
        Let us know, yes?

  5. As soon as the vaccines were distributed, the daily fear alerts turned to the new strains from Brazil, Africa and who knows where else. Gotta keep the fearful drenched thoroughly to ensure full compliance. IMHO… we’ had a year of mask wearing and, it apparently doesn’t work. If mask shamers are so certain that they do, why do they flip out and/or take evasive action when one of the unwashed walks by without one? I feel that it’s time to give society the option to wear one if you feel that you need to or, not wear one if you don’t want to. If something isn’t done, we’ll be moving towards a vaccine mandate to even walk into a store let alone travel. Enough already. And before you consider shaming me for being insensitive… I’ve had the Wuhan and it was like a short bout with the flu.

    • One day there will be another terrible epidemic but this is not it (I suffered the same illness as you and I have several risk factors). We do need to protect the most vulnerable with N95 masks etc. The rest of us should remain free to live and be productive for this viral wave.

  6. I went to Vegas last week and met up with my son and family from Idaho. It was like they really had no idea the pandemic was a real thing. No masks. All the kids have been in school since the fall like normal. Genuinely puzzled by all the fuss…

      • Actually, the most informed know the reality of COVID while the most ignorant uninformed drink the progressive Kool Aid that face diapers and shut downs provide benefit. Compare life in South Dakota to New York. Compare Anchorage to Mat Su or Fairbanks. Life goes on, live it or crawl back under your MSNBC rock.

        • I don’t watch MSNBC. I do watch the 5,000 new cases each day in Florida are dying number is going down though dramatically. Yesterday we only lost four. In the past week that’s down from about 30 a day.

          • I also watch the numbers and the case fatality rate continues low. There will one day be another terrible epidemic, this is not it. Now we need to get back to business and on with our lives. My body my choice. You may wear a mask if you like.

  7. Key words used ,,,, “may” x 4 ,,,, “limited” x 2 ,,,, “allowed” x 2 ,,,, “required” and of course “obey”. Elections coming ,,,, get what you vote for ,,, if that’s allowed. Why does Anchorage need to have such measures when in the Mat-Su they don’t ? 1 year later and the homeless drunks who don’t practice good hygiene or social distancing are not stacked like cordwood in the streets. So who are these rules and mandates really helping ? Urinating / defecating and sharing booze on the streets is allowed but no schools or libraries .

  8. With due respect to Anchorage’s fraudulent hyphenated mayor, might one suggest “mandatory testing for incoming travelers…” will be turned into a really bad idea, especially when pictures go nationwide.
    .
    Mayor seems to have drawn a line in the sand… dared Americans who dislike, disrespect, and distrust the mayor to step over that line.
    .
    What line?
    .
    Peoples Code Enforcement Checkpoints will have to be set up at every state, federal, and private airport, airstrip, heliport, and floatplane base. Checkpoints will have to be set up at every road, railroad, trail, dock, and waterway which enters or runs near Anchorage.
    .
    Mandatory Detention Centers will have to be established for Americans (not illegal aliens) who refuse “mandatory testing”.
    .
    Outbound Anchorage travellers may get some sort of retaliatory treatment at their final destinations.
    .
    Live freight has to get “mandatory testing” to eliminate nonhuman China flu carriers.
    .
    Peoples Code Enforcement teams will have to set up random, mobile road checkpoints to assure nobody falls through the Mayor’s China flu safety net.
    .
    Every Anchorage resident must be required to carry a regularly updated Peoples Code Enforcement Vaccination and Testing document and be prepared to show it to any Anchorage Municipal Official.
    .
    Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of “inbound travellers” must be suspended until further notice by Anchorage’s fraudulent hyphenated mayor and its Code Enforcement officials.
    .
    … unless We The (Unmasked) People decide otherwise.
    .
    What say you, Gentle Readers?
    .
    To our Eaglexit friends, how about taking more… a whole lot more… customers with you?

  9. There is an election next month. I recommend Robbins or Bronson. Two very conservative canditates. Vote to remove Rivera, no Dunbar. We need a strong leader not a dictator.

  10. People who love life, learn how to live life without debilitating fear issues.
    People who fear death are paralyzed – held back.
    Death is the inevitable spirit graduation from this planet.
    BUT!
    While here on this planet, why not make the most of living – it’s really a short stay.
    And in doing so make sure to pack all the best luggage you can for the long spirit adventure ahead.

  11. I smell something rotten. Me thinks the easing up is related to an up coming election. Trying to now make Democrats look human and caring

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