KCHU’s Gabriella Palko reports on the status of the COVID-19 Response in Valdez. Click play to listen or read the transcript below.
As of Sunday night (5/10), there were 379 total cases, 10 deaths, and 324 recoveries of COVID 19 in the state of Alaska. As Governor Mike Dunleavy slowly reopens the state, KCHU’s
Gabriella Palko took a pulse on the City of Valdez to find out what it’s been through, and where it’s headed.
Walking around Valdez lately you’ll see a flurry of activity- boats going into the harbor, RVs trickling into the parking lots, and kids outside playing together in the early May sunshine. This wasn’t so much the case several weeks ago when the big coronavirus wav hit the UnitedStates. Statewide hunker down orders and travel restrictions left town quiet for weeks, which is likely why Valdez has had zero cases of COVID-19 so far.
Just about everyone has felt the impact of the pandemic. Non-essential businesses closed their doors, grocery stores offered delivery services and curbside pickups, the post office limited entry to ten people. There were mandatory temperature checks at the terminal. And 14 day quarantine orders for fishermen led to installment of portapotties erected 6 feet apart in the harbor parking lots. At the helm of the coronavirus communication in town has been the Valdez Unified Community Response Group – consisting of local medical professionals and community leaders. They
shifted into a formal Unified Command structure following the declaration of a local disaster in early March. And they’ve been busy, because things have changed quickly around here.
Most notably is Local health mandate 001. Approved on March 23, it required that any travelers coming into town from a community within 100 road miles of a known case of COVID-19 must quarantine for fourteen days, with certain exemptions for essential workers. This mandate was
amended on april 21st, then Rescinded on the 29th and replaced with a new Health & Safety Proclamation. The city’s website reads “ the Proclamation provides a more useful and easy to navigate way to focus on health and safety behaviors for everyone who lives, works, or plays in Valdez.
The proclamation encourages good hygiene, practicing social distancing, wearing face cloth coverings in public that cover the nose and mouth, staying close to home and limiting interactions with others, avoiding gathering with more than 20 people, and listening to the state’s chief medical officer Dr. Anne Zink.
However, State Health Mandate 010 is still in effect. This mandate requires travelers arriving in Alaska from other states or countries to file a traveler declaration form with the state and complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arriving in or returning to Alaska.
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I checked in on the Providence Valdez Hospital, most of their efforts have been “targeted at bolstering personal protective equipment, improving lab capabilities to test for the disease, and fortifying surge capabilities by identifying temporary healthcare staff and working closely with the
City of Valdez to set up an alternate care site”.
But now that the state is opening back up, Providence Valdez Medical Center and the Providence Valdez Counseling Center are currently working to restore services that were curtailed over the last couple months all while keeping patients, clients, and caregivers safe. All of this information comes from the Hospital administrator and City Mayor, Jeremy O’Neil.
O’Neil temporarily stepped down from his position to focus on hospital and community COVID-19 response efforts as part of the Unified Command Incident Command group. In a message from Mr. Oneill he states it was “ the right move to make at the time from a personal bandwidth perspective and my thanks goes out to Valdez Mayor Pro Tempore, Sharon Scheidt
who stepped in during that time”. As of April 21st, Mr. Oneill has resumed his position as mayor, citing that the “sprint” portion of the response to this disease has transitioned into the “marathon” phase.
This marathon phase includes statewide reopening plans. Non-essential businesses like restaurants, hair salons, pools, and gyms are now allowed to reopen with various capacity restrictions and sanitary guidelines.
Nick Farline, director of Valdez Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, says the department is actively working on a summer camp, and that the Civic Center and Library are still a few weeks away from opening. However, the library is now offering curbside book pickup.
For more information on the rapidly changing local mandates and guidelines, please go to Valdez unified page at http://www.valdezak.gov/COVID-19
and the state website https://covid19.alaska.gov/
Reporting in Valdez, I’m Gabriella Palko.
