Juneau’s mayor was sick with COVID-19 in late May.
During Monday evening’s city assembly meeting, Mayor Beth Weldon said she traveled to the Lower 48 to move her son out of his college dorm. When she came back, she started her 14-day quarantine, and then started to feel sick.
Weldon says she took a test and became the 32nd person in the city to test positive for the virus.
“I’m sorry that I keep it a secret for so long,” she said. “But to be quite honest I didn’t want my mother to worry about me and I [waited until I] could tell her I had it and then was recovered,” she said.
Juneau public health nurses attribute the case to her travel outside of the state.
After talking to the state’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, Weldon decided to share her experience publicly.
Weldon says her case was fairly mild. She says she took a lot of naps and was often tired. But, she never had a fever.
She encouraged community members to get tested for the virus if they develop symptoms saying that there’s a perception the test is extremely painful, but it isn’t.
“The reason I’m sharing my story now is that it’s a case in point that even the mildest of symptoms, you should opt to get tested,” she said.
As of June 4, Weldon says she’s been declared virus-free.
Members of the public can call Juneau’s COVID-19 hotline at 907-586-6000 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
