State health officials say they’ve detected the first case of the COVID-19 variant from the United Kingdom in Alaska, which appears to spread more easily and quickly.
Health
‘You can’t bubble the Legislature’: How Alaska’s lawmakers and capital city are coping with COVID-19 this session
There are more than 130 legislators and staff in Juneau for the legislative session.
The COVID-19 testing crunch is over. But fewer Alaskans are getting tested — a trend officials want to change.
Officials say they’ve noticed a recent drop-off in the number of people using Anchorage’s drive-through testing sites, in spite of quickening turnarounds and relatively short wait times.
With more vaccines arriving in Alaska, state debuts new appointment hotline
State health officials say they’re set to launch a live hotline this week for Alaskans trying to get vaccine appointments.
Legislative intern drove to Haines, boarded flight to Juneau after testing positive for COVID-19
An Anchorage man who tested positive for COVID-19 broke quarantine in Haines then boarded a flight with nine other passengers earlier this month. Since his visit, the Haines Emergency Operations Center has reported two new local cases of COVID-19.
Gov. Dunleavy proposes bill to extend Alaska’s COVID-19 disaster declaration through September
The bill would extend Dunleavy’s fourth declaration of the pandemic, which is set to expire on Feb. 14.
COVID-19 closes a third Aleutian plant, stranding Bering Sea fishermen at the dock
In the Aleutian port town of Unalaska, at least five local boats are stuck at the dock with nowhere to deliver their cod after the shutdown of the Alyeska Seafoods processing plant
Concern about Alaska’s foster care future under Dunleavy plan to split state health department
President Richard Peterson said Tribes should have been consulted before the state rolled out the proposal, not after. He notes that most children in Alaska’s foster system are Alaska Native.
‘She’s been through a pandemic before’: Bethel elder who had COVID-19 is one of the first to get vaccine
Xenia Jackson’s first experience with a pandemic was during the tuberculosis outbreaks of the 20th century when she worked as a village health aide. She tested positive for COVID-19 last year and is one of the first people to get vaccinated in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
No easy answers after fire destroys Tuluksak’s water supply
In the short term, the community wants to connect its well to the school. But the well pulls up water from the Tuluksak River, which isn’t safe to drink.