Ketchikan EOC apologizes for bar-shaming incident

By
Suzanne Downing
-
17

The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center has apologized for having named five specific bars in downtown Ketchikan, in what was supposed to be an effort to alert people about possible Covid exposure.

“It was not the intent of the EOC to draw negative attention to the establishments or to imply that they had done anything wrong. The EOC is very aware of the hardships that these businesses have faced the past year, and we sincerely apologize for any perception that the EOC was calling out businesses in a negative light. In fact, the EOC is very pleased with the manner in which these establishments have worked with the EOC and Public Health, and have implemented employee testing protocols and mitigation plans for their businesses,” the agency wrote in a news release.

“In many of the cases identified last week, unfortunately, the nature of the operation and the length of potential interaction in those locations led to the difficulty in the contact tracing. The close contacts could not be identified by Public Health through the normal investigation, and an announcement of the commonly attended businesses became necessary. It was necessary to announce the risk to the public so that people could self-identify and proceed with quarantine and testing. Four of the five named businesses were contacted by Public Health prior to the announcement, and messages were left for the fifth business,” the EOC explained.

Local hospitality representatives had strenuously objected to the naming of bars, because they said it was just as likely that everyone who went to a bar also visited other businesses around Alaska’s First City.

Ketchikan is bar-shaming

17 COMMENTS

  1. Ketchikan died when the Pulp Mill closed – along with all the mills in SE AK. So, over time, they built up a “temporary” city, catering to the tourism industry. The entire downtown was transformed into a tourist trap. People from far and wide set up shop to sell jewels and furs, and then boarded up shop and went back to where they came from in the offseason. Some local businesses remained year-round. Over those years, millions of people disembarked in “The First City”, and the cash poured in. The pandemic hits, and now the downtown looks worse than an empty movie set. The “one industry dependence” is tough on a city when things go south. A huge SHAME on you to the EOC in KTKN. Everyone is scrounging to survive and you ‘out’ people with absolutely ZERO evidence. If I were those businesses I would tell the EOC where they could put their feigned apology. Team up bar owners, and publicly let the EOC know the losses you’ve experienced.

    • Government workers have no downside. They collect paychecks no matter how the general population is doing. Businesses go under and they raise taxes on the fewer businesses still operating. Then they smear the losers who lost due to the policies of the smear merchants. Washington is full of over paid stooges who continue to make great demands of the people they are supposed to represent. Its clear to me they don’t represent us, they resent us.

  2. The hysterical, hair-on-fire Branch Covidian Karens will not be happy until everyone is forced to wear hardhats, goggles, gasmasks, and full body suits during their rare forays out in public — or better yet, mandated by law to remain at home, wrapped in bubble wrap while sitting on their couch, until they finally die (of boredom and/or insanity).
    .
    Safetyism is a mental disease, and I refuse to be a party to anyone else’s paranoia and mental illness.

  3. Southeast Alaska it should be the most open minded place considering its already struggling economy. You think Southeast will be mandate in name only but businesses and residents will put their community’s life ahead of bankruptcy. For Southeast Alaska you take the bars away and there goes the only social outlet for most people. All that be left is BInGO and it doesnt serve beer nor has a pool table nor honky tonk music Hahahaha

  4. There is a strange statistic that has always amazed me. No related cases of COVID have ever been detected in Seattle and Portland after almost a year of rioting, looting, burning, and pillaging. Not one. What we need to do outside these bars and restaurants is perhaps have some small controlled fires, a dumpster to break glass in, and some sacrificial property for people to steal. I firmly believe this would chase away any of these evil COVID spores.

    • No related cases of covid in Seattle or Portland? Are you serious. Do your research before making a comment like that. Stop listening to your group QAnon

      • Where can I read about community spread covid due to riots, protests and any of the other 125 costly temper tantrums the left wing idiots threw in the last year? Please cite your truthful sources. Id like to study and read about lefty community spread threw mostly peaceful costly riots.

        Thank you, sincerely,
        Qanon

  5. Joe Biden shuts down the pipeline killing thousands of union jobs. Canada retaliates and bans cruise ships from stopping there. Jones Act union labor hurt, union and nonunion employees in dozens of Alaskan cities suffer and Alaska’s unionized railroad lays off hundreds. All since Feb 4 when Canada retaliated. Joe Biden the union man says nothing except “learn to code”. Democrats aren’t very smart. Soon China and Canada will announce a joint venture to build a Canadian east west pipeline. Heck of a job joey.

  6. Whoever the spokeslady is for the EOC, and I do not know for sure but I think it’s a lady., she is delving in politics. First two paragraphs were solid, she should of just ended it there. Apologize and move forward. That’s more of what we want to see.

  7. Covid19 is nothing more than a flu. It was downgraded by the CDC as such. It was a political tool that was used to decrease the population, ruin the economy in order to bring in a New World Order and to keep people at home to vote by mail in order to insure a Biden win.

    Trump is coming back though.

  8. Give me a break here. Those bars should remain closed till this pandemic is over. They, owners and customers , do what they want wben it comes to public health right along . For example : It’s a open secret that for one dollar, the bartender will give you an ashtray to smoke openly in defiance of the law. The dollar goes into a fine jar for the bar if caught. How can anyone trust these bars who obviously skirt public health laws as they see fit. Apolagize to the bars ? Ya , I’ll get right on it.

  9. We all need an EOC to keep these socialists out of our lives. Stop the fearmongering and targeting. Let me move freely about the cabin without the pseudoscience indoctrination.

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