Update | 5:41 p.m.
With COVID-19 case numbers increasing in Juneau, city officials have discussed the possibility of raising the community’s risk level.
“We have decided to hold steady at level 1,” said Deputy City Manager Mila Cosgrove during a community update on Tuesday. “It is still possible that we could elevate the risk level to moderate, but we won’t go there lightly. We’ll go there if we need to. But we do need to let the community know, it is possible to get there, so we want to be super careful.”
Raising the risk level would mean indoor gatherings would be more limited in size. Bars, gyms, and personal services businesses would have to halve their capacities.
Cosgrove said good hospital capacity, good contact tracing and good quarantining practices among people who’ve tested positive have kept them from raising the risk level.
Original story | 3:43 p.m.
Juneau officials plan to hold their weekly community update on COVID-19 at 4 p.m. over Zoom.
You can watch here, on the city’s Facebook page, or listen in by calling 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799 with the webinar ID 985 6308 5159. The public can ask questions in advance by emailing COVIDquestions@juneau.org.
City officials know of a few pockets of positive cases in the community. One involves a small daycare that 10 positive cases have been tied to. As of Monday, six people in that cluster had active cases and four had recovered.
Another pocket is tied to Thunder Mountain High School, where three people tested positive over the weekend. The high school canceled in-person classes on Monday. They’re scheduled to resume on Thursday.
And two crew members of the state ferry Matanuska tested positive over the weekend. One is quarantining in Ketchikan, the other quarantined on board and intended to continue quarantining at home after the ferry’s arrival in Juneau, which was scheduled for early Monday morning.
City officials know of 24 people with active cases in Juneau. The vaccination rate of Juneau’s total population is nearing the 50% mark.
Vaccine appointments are available through local health care providers, pharmacies, as well as city clinics at Centennial Hall, the airport and the University of Alaska Southeast. Pop-up clinics are also available by request.
