Tag: coronavirus
‘Staged approach’: Some elective medical procedures in Alaska will restart next week
Health care providers must keep proper social distancing and minimize the use of personal protective equipment under the new directives.
North Slope Borough backs out of deal with Ravn, reaffirms right to commandeer assets in emergency
The borough said that negotiations with Ravn were "not fruitful" and that it would rescind itself from an agreement in principle to pay the company $110,000 per month to rent its hangar in Utqiagvik.
The coronavirus pandemic is shifting Alaska’s telehealth expansion into overdrive
Telehealth had been steadily expanding in Alaska for years, but fewer regulations during the coronavirus have allowed it to boom.
Alaska’s struggling timber industry can now hit pause on federal contracts
The U.S. Forest Service is allowing extensions on existing timber sale contracts with sawmills and timber operators during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid food supply chain concerns, tribal governments request emergency hunts
Some communities off the road system aren't counting on state promises to ship in packaged meats, and say that the emergency hunts are required to secure food resources during the coronavirus emergency.
Alaska hospital warns of layoffs after ‘devastating’ revenue loss due to pandemic
The Yukon-Kuskokwim's regional health corporation saw a 70% drop in patients after statewide travel restrictions were announced.
Fishing towns object to Alaska’s mandate overruling local COVID-19 restrictions
Fishing towns are asking for more say in regulating who is allowed into their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.
LISTEN: Cordova mayor says salmon season can still be safe amid pandemic, but it’ll likely be different
The Alaska fishing communities conflicted about the idea of an influx of out-of-town commercial fishermen and processing plant workers include the Prince William Sound city of Cordova. Hundreds of Cordova residents have signed a petition asking Mayor Clay Koplin to restrict most travel to the community.
Kodiak Island has its first case of coronavirus
A first case of COVID-19 was confirmed on Kodiak Island Wednesday afternoon. According to a press release from the Kodiak Area Emergency Services Organization, “The individual is not acutely ill and is staying at home.”
Self-employed and out of work? Apply for unemployment anyway, says Department of Labor
The state says that getting denied unemployment insurance is a prerequisite for getting payments for the program that is being set up to help self-employed workers.
LISTEN: Denali lodge owner weighs economics and ethics of late opening amid coronavirus uncertainty
Camp Denali and the North Face Lodge are naturalist-oriented accommodations in the heart of Denali National Park. The business is just one many in the Denali area depending on tourism income that, for the foreseeable future, is nonexistent due to coronavirus related travel restrictions.
Additional Pogo workers have tested positive for COVID-19, mine company won’t say how many
Northern Star Resources would not say how many workers at the mine have tested positive. A company spokesperson said Tuesday that it’s “a small number.”
Alaska’s personal use and sport fisheries will stay open amid COVID-19 pandemic
Residents are being asked to take precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Anchorage emergency declaration extended to June, some measures to relax in coming weeks
The move allows the administration to keep using special powers to more swiftly respond to the coronavirus, but does not mean that all of the current “hunker down” orders will remain in place that long.
During this health crisis, the business of medicine in Alaska hurts, too
Like business owners everywhere, the owners of private medical practices are wondering how they’ll make it without the revenue that used to pay the bills.
Dunleavy loosens restrictions on elective medical procedures, alcohol pickups
At a nightly press conference, the governor said the state would carefully monitor the number of coronavirus cases as it eases restrictions on the healthcare industry.
2 more staffers at Lemon Creek Correctional Center test positive for COVID-19
The two new confirmed cases bring the total number of Covid-positive staff members at Juneau's jail to 6, but officials say that no inmates have tested positive.
State will let health care providers resume elective procedures, allows takeout alcohol
Dunleavy said the state is getting a handle on the personal protective equipment needed by health care workers and that’s allowing the change.
Princess and Holland America cancel most of their Alaska cruises, won’t open lodges this summer
The announcements serve another blow to Alaska’s economy, and mean the loss of thousands of seasonal jobs.
Families of children with special needs worry their children will be left behind as education moves online
Children with special needs have a range of learning differences that often require individualized and specialized learning strategies which can be difficult to transfer to an online learning environment.