Fourth, fifth, sixth coronavirus cases: Ketchikan, Anchorage, Fairbanks

By
Suzanne Downing
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34

NEW HEALTH MANDATES FROM STATE: CLOSING RESTAURANT

Ketchikan, Anchorage, and Fairbanks are the locations of new cases of coronavirus of coronavirus in Alaska. All cases are considered travel-related cases, with people who had traveled in the Lower 48.

Dr. Anne Zink, the chief medical officer for the state, took a previous advisory that says if you traveled within 14 days to a Level 3 country, home quarantine yourself for 14 days and made it a mandate.

Another health mandate statewide, effective March 18 at 5 pm, all bars, breweries, restaurant, food, kiosks, closed to dine in services. No on-site consumption is permitted.

The mandate does not include grocery stores but does include salad bars.

Zink said all Alaskans should minimize gatherings or being around other people in close settings.

The people with the virus are quarantined in their homes. Zink said 80 percent of those who get the virus will not need hospitalization, and so it’s best for them to stay at home.

Sen. Cathy Giessel, president of the Senate, said the Legislature stands with Gov. Dunleavy. “We stand with the governor in addressing the economic impact.”

Dunleavy asked Alaskans to take the issue more seriously. There is no vaccine. “We all need to do our part. This is a new virus. This is a virus that is easily spread. If you’re a young person you may not know that you have the virus,” he said. But he admonished young people to practice social distancing.

34 COMMENTS

  2. Drip, drip, splash, glug glug glug.

    .

    We’ve seen the pattern a few times now. Get those beds and vents ready.

  3. it was so inconsiderate of people to travel outside of Alaska during all this. They will have no idea if they have the virus and by the time they feel the symptom they will have spread it to everyone they work with or have gone to stores. I think that anyone who traveled out of stay should be quarantined for 14 days so not to spread. Very very inconsiderate people who will make us pay for their lack of consideration.

    • It’s not the flu. 14 days has been shown to be insufficient in many cases. I think the Diamond Princess alone had 2 or 3 that have gone past the three week mark.

    • I believe that mandate occurred yesterday from Governors office. 14 days ‘quarantine’. As for those that traveled, many, if not most, traveled before this all became the center of our lives ? then they needed to return.

  4. Barry, you might consider that many of those who traveled did so after their president told them the virus was well under control and not to worry.

    I might remind you of just a few of the quotes:

    “We have it totally under control.”

    “I’m not concerned at all.”

    “It will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”

    “You may ask about the coronavirus, which is very well under control in our country. We have very few people with it, and the people that have it are … getting better. They’re all getting better.”

    Barry, you might be angry that we are facing a spreading wildfire of a virus but you might think about directing some of that ire at the source of the misinformation which gave people a false sense.

    Many people who traveled, many who got sick, many who have died, took their president’s claims at face value.

    As we look to what may come, we shouldn’t whitewash the steps leading up to the crisis. Accountability shouldn’t be passed off on people who maybe innocently thought they were getting trustworthy advice from their president.

    • If you live your life by the words of a president you’re already in trouble.. Listen to reliable news… Or even news outside of the USA. Can’t blame him for you not educating yourself better… Just saying

    • President Trump was trying to get our nation not to panic, which the media has flooded us with. Spring Break was just last week, people could have canceled. The President is doing a good job.

      • So, how’s that “trying to get the nation not to panic” thing working out?

        It’s a good thing this is not a “hot” virus like Ebola or Marburg. Letting those loose, with their mortality rates of 50% and up would have everyone huddled in their hovels except the ones looking to win a Darwin.
        This virus was coming for us whether we thought it would or not. Dismissing it, like the President did, simply ensured it would be more widespread and harder to deal with. The wild card is its severity. Best guess is that it will be mild for most but kill mostly the elderly and the compromised. If you lose your Gramma, or your own life, it may or may not be because of Trump. However, if there are more cases out there, the odds go up in favor of you getting it.
        Are you willing to bet your life on Trump?

        • Are you willing to bet your life on whatever the media has to say even though they’ve published false information, continually? The fact is, this is a new virus, and NO ONE truly understands it yet. The CDC and WHO continually change their recommendations as they find new studies, like the fact the virus can linger in the air for hours.
          .
          I am tired of people like you politicizing a serious problem that affects everyone. Pointing fingers and blaming Trump, the media, or anyone else does nothing but continues the division we have right now. I give credit to Trump for getting his act together (even a CNN anchor gives him kudos) and the media for trying to keep up with the ever changing information from the CDC and WHO. I give credit to Gov Dunleavy for being so transparent and proactive and Anchorage’s Mayor Burkowitz for also being proactive and trying to look out for our homeless people.
          .
          Please quit the political jabs. Or would you like me to remind you about Obama’s response to the Swine flu and his trillion dollar bailouts? No president is perfect, and no president can make everyone happy. Just quit being such a political hack.

          • Trump chose politics when he pushed cuts of $15 billion in national health spending and eliminating the global disease-fighting operational budgets of the CDC, NSC, DHS, and HHS. And the government’s $30 million Complex Crises Fund was eliminated.
            Why? Because another president had promoted the idea that you prepare for a pandemic before it strikes.
            Trump chose to attempt erasing all that previous president worked on.

          • Nayem,

            Stop spreading misinformation, please. If you want to be taken serious repeating misinformation is not a way to do that “eliminating the global disease-fighting operational budgets of the CDC, NSC, DHS, and HHS.” This is misinformation and you are putting politics above everything else.

        • Nayem you need to stop the fear mongering and political posturing. Like he said no president would please everybody I am sure you would have done a crappy job at it so there.

          • So there?

            Trump presides over the worst failure of government ever and you can only say no president pleases everybody?

            Do your parents know you’re on the computer?

          • “the worst failure of government ever”
            .
            You really need to get some perspective. North Korea isn’t even the worst ever, but their government is far worse than ours, Iran, Syria, Venezuela the list goes on and of just present day horrible government failures. If you open your history book you will find in the past century alone that governments around the world (almost exclusively left leaning) have killed hundreds of millions of their own citizens…perspective my dear Nayem, perspective.

  5. This will only pass once enough people have caught and survived this virus. The population has to build immunity for this to end. There is no vaccine.

  6. Where is the 80% number Dr. Zink states coming from I wonder? Is that a standard percentage already for common cold or influenza? This COVID-19 virus, is essentially in itself no more dangerous than influenza or even common cold, which is also a ‘family member’ of corona. Both the common cold, for which there are around 200 strains, and influenza, are also highly transmittable. The critical factor though with COVID 19 and what is is the basis for all the ruckus, is that it is new so not a single person on this planet likely has any immunity to it, nor is there any preventative vaccine, hence the problems of having all of us getting it at once and the effects of that on our medical system by those that are vulnerable to complications and may need help. Likely most readers here know all of that.

    At some point in life most of us will get COVID-19, if not this year, than next, or maybe in five years. Immunity will increase in our populations and maybe there will be a vaccine. It will be a non event later, most will just complain of a cold, but as always with cold or flu, if you are vulnerable to complications, you will need to be extra cautious, as you should be with viruses.

    I am not sure that all of the community and business shut downs and lock downs were necessary. The massively crowded grocery stores will thwart any of the shut down efforts. The steps put forth of social distancing, extreme hand washing, covering coughs, etc. work pretty well and were already being practiced by most. Modifications could have been made by restaurants to lower risk of transmission and if one is vulnerable don’t eat out right now. As for the stores, maybe a purchase limit right now on everything would slow the panic shopping and alleviate the crowding. That would likely be more effective than closing restaurants.

  7. Know what? I have a vacation coming up in April to Arizona. Guess what? I’m going! Until they stop all flights everywhere my life is going on as normal. Not gonna let this media frenzy scare me.. Not one bit. When you already have spent a pretty penny on flights out of Alaska, have gotten time off work your going short of a casualty. AIRLINES will not reimburse you just because the nation has gotten virus crazy and the media is spinning a scare tactic. There is more going on here and no one is talking about it. Like I said. Live your life as normal as possible. Follow the guidelines for washing up better and unless you have a terrible immune system get outside and get some fresh air!

    • Have a great trip… and then stay there then. Don’t come back until the virus is over. Have fun putting yourself at risk of being infected as well instead of staying. home. Cheers!

    • China, Italy, South Korea, Trump, Dunleavy and the local hospital staff are all in on it? Did they have a conference call? A meet up at Davos?

      You aren’t bright. Maybe you should allow people more intelligent than you guide you before you hurt yourself and someone else.

  8. Flu like viruses are different strains every year and always have been this way…
    This is why your “flu shot” is usually made up from last year’s bug.
    “Influenza viruses are constantly changing, with new strains appearing regularly.
    If you’ve had influenza in the past, your body has already made antibodies to fight that particular strain of the virus.
    If future influenza viruses are similar to those you’ve encountered before, either by having the disease or by getting vaccinated, those antibodies may prevent infection or lessen its severity.”
    (Mayo Clinic)

    • Watch out for those NSAIDs. They can make you susceptible to the Wu-flu. I recommend trying CBD oil.

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