Update | 7:33 p.m.
Juneau city officials say they may soon lower the city’s COVID-19 risk level, and the associated community restrictions, down a notch.
“If our numbers continue to be low, I think we probably can move to the moderate level, potentially as early as next week,” Deputy City Manager Mila Cosgrove said Tuesday. “But we are still waiting and watching and hoping to make a decision about that very soon.”
Case numbers are trending down here and statewide. As of Tuesday, officials know of 29 Juneau residents with active cases.
Cosgrove said that’s fantastic, but they’re being cautious about a potential bump in case counts from holiday gatherings, travelers returning to Juneau and from the city’s latest free, asymptomatic testing event.
So far, the city has collected COVID-19 test samples from 724 people without symptoms. They found four positive cases out of the 519 tests processed so far.
Appointments began Dec. 30 and are available through Jan. 10 at the city’s website or by calling the city’s regular COVID hotline at 907-586-6000.
Cosgrove encouraged people to get tested if they work with the public, or, “If you’ve been out and about, traveling, maybe you had a little too much fun over the holidays? Please, go get tested. Let’s make sure you’re not asymptomatic and carrying COVID and distributing it about the community.”
For now, the city’s risk level remains high. The city’s COVID-19 measures require that masks be worn indoors. Bars and restaurants are limited to half capacity, and gyms and personal service providers are limited to quarter capacity.
At the moderate level, gyms and personal services could go to half capacity. Bars’ capacity would still be capped at half, but they could stay open later. Restaurants’ capacity would no longer be limited. The limit on indoor events would go from 20 people to 50.
While the vaccine rollout continues in Juneau, emergency planning chief Robert Barr said it’s unlikely to affect community restrictions for awhile. He said that while clinical trials have shown both vaccines approved for emergency use are 95% or more effective at preventing illness from COVID-19, spreading it is different.
“What we don’t yet know is whether or not those vaccines are also effective at preventing transmission. And until we learn that, it’s unlikely that restrictions due to vaccination efforts will be lifted,” Barr said.
Barr said he’s heard an analogy that’s helped him understand the distinction. The body’s immunity is like having a bunch of security guards.
“We don’t know if those security guards are living in your nose or if they’re just elsewhere in your body,” he said. “If they’re in your nose, they’re probably pretty good at preventing transmission because it’s an airborne transmission based process. If they’re not, then that would make sense as to why the vaccine would be good at preventing symptoms, but perhaps not transmission.”
He said there are studies looking into it, but it’ll be awhile.
Barr also said about 1,000 more doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are headed to Juneau, and 400 doses of Moderna’s vaccine are going directly to local pharmacies. He said this batch is for first-time vaccinations and not for the second dose intended of both vaccines. He said second doses are accounted for separately, and that they’ll always be in the pipeline in the same ratio as the first dose.
The vaccine supply is limited. But Barr encouraged tribal members, military personnel and veterans to contact health care providers associated with those groups; federal authorities distributed vaccines through the Indian Health Service, the military, and Veterans Affairs separate from the state.
Local emergency officials also said they’re working on better communication about the vaccination process. In Sunday’s emergency ops memo, Cosgrove mentioned “misinformation about how or when” people age 65 and older can register.
Cosgrove said Tuesday that she chalks it up to a little bit of confusion and bad timing. Federal authorities had recommended people age 75 and up be eligible in an upcoming vaccination phase. But news from a state vaccine committee broke ahead of the holiday weekend that Alaska would deviate from the federal guidance and open it up to people age 65 and over.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated that restaurants would remain limited to half capacity at level 2 risk. There would no longer be a capacity limit for restaurants at level 2.
Original story | 3:25 p.m.
Juneau city officials are holding their weekly COVID-19 community update at 4 p.m. today. You can watch on this post, on the City and Borough of Juneau’s Facebook page or on Zoom. The public can submit questions in advance to CovidQuestions@juneau.org.
As of today, city officials know of 29 residents with active cases. Case numbers are trending down here and statewide.
Recent reports from the emergency operations center say the city’s collected COVID-19 test samples from 571 people without symptoms as part of the city’s latest free, asymptomatic testing event. They found three positive cases out of the 308 tests processed as of Monday evening.
Appointments began Dec. 30 and are available until Jan. 10 through the city’s website or by calling the city’s regular COVID hotline at 907-586-6000.
Local emergency officials also say they’re working on better communication about the vaccination process. In Sunday’s emergency ops memo, Deputy City Manager Mila Cosgrove wrote, “There appears to be misinformation about how or when” people age 65 and older can register.
