Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson ended Anchorage’s emergency proclamation at Tuesday night’s Assembly meeting.
Quinn-Davidson said reduced COVID-19 cases and increased vaccination numbers have put the city in a stable enough position to lift the emergency proclamation. Already, many of the emergency orders, like the mask mandate and gathering limits, have been lifted.
At this point, Quinn-Davidson said, the city no longer needs the flexibility of an emergency proclamation to set public measures and deploy emergency resources. She said the city can now move core functions of the Emergency Operations Center, like vaccination efforts and shelter care, to existing municipal departments.
The city has been under an emergency proclamation since March of 2020. Since then, the Anchorage Assembly has voted to extend it eight times.
Quinn-Davidson cautioned that while the proclamation is ending, the COVID-19 pandemic is still present. She encouraged residents to get vaccinated and for unvaccinated people to follow CDC guidance and wear masks in indoor spaces.
Kavitha George is Alaska Public Media’s climate change reporter. Reach her at kgeorge@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Kavithahere.
