(SitNews) Anchorage , Alaska - During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy & public health officials announced the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska has increased to a total of 12 as of Thursday afternoon. New cases this week included cases from Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Anchorage and Seward.

During a press conference this afternoon, Governor Michael Dunleavy said as they predicted they knew, it's growing and as of today, Alaska has three news cases bringing the total number of confirmed cases up to 12 in Alaska.

The Governor said his administration will continue to adjust the protocols and will continue to do as needed. Nothing is off the table said Gov. Dunleavy.

There was contact today with the President of the United States, the Vice President, and others as well. Governor Dunleavy said there has been contact with other governors to understand what other governors are doing to address the coronavirus, and to learn more about what's happening in their states. States like New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, State of Washington and California have many, many more cases that Alaska does. These states have more people that are being hospitalized, and of course some of these states have had deaths. Dunleavy said, "We're fortunate, to this day, we've had no deaths in the state of Alaska. And we're gonna do everything we can to minimize that from occurring for the people of Alaska."

March 19, 2020 Update Listen to the full press conference. Video Courtesy Office of the Governor

The governor again said, not only do we have a health crisis but and ecomonic crisis. The economic crisis in Alaska, as in other states, is really not something that organically occurred, but it was a result of state action in the Alaska administration's effort to combat the virus.

Dunleavy said, "So when we asked bars, distilleries, movie theaters, restaurants, and more to stop having clients in locales and their establishments this of course causes an economic hardship on not just the business owner, but the employees.

He said his administration is taking this very seriously and as As a result, there's a couple the Governor will be coming out with more approaches to dealing with the economic crisis, possibly Friday.

Dunleavy said, "We have to stabilize our economy, we know that this is a government induced situation, because of the health issue. And we believe that the government needs to be involved in this particular case, because, again, this is not something that's occurred because it was a bad business deal or, or one sector was not doing well. This is widespread across all sectors and so we are going to do everything we can to stabilize the economy."

Today, the Governor said he sent a letter to the Small Business Administration Tuesday afternoon to get ahead of things. Dunleavy's team is in discussions with Small Business Administration. There have been discussions with President Trump and the Governor said the President's administration will do everything they can to get the resources needed in Alaska and across the nation to deal with the economic fallout that's occurring in other states as well.

This action will enable small businesses impacted by the coronavirus up to $2 million in economic injury disaster loan assistance.

Additionally, the Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development has several loan programs available to small businesses. These can provide working capital to those that need immediate assistance and Governor Dunleavy stated, "We're going to make sure that this happens ASAP."

The Governor said he has tasked Dr. Tamika L. Ledbetter, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, to ensure that Alaska's workers have everything they need to get through this time of difficulty. The governor said this is no fault of the working Alaskan, and he do everything his administration can to make sure that people are assisted as quickly as possible so that they can pay their bills, buy their groceries, take care of their medical bills, just as if they were working and employed.

In a news release, the Alaska Department of Labor encourages individuals whose hours of work have been impacted to file for UI benefits online at https://my.alaska.gov.  Instructions for filing benefits, the UI handbook, Frequently Asked Questions, and other resources can be located at: https://labor.alaska.gov/unemployment.

Quoting the Alaska DOL news release, due to anticipated increase in claims activity, the department asks that individuals first file a claim online and only call the UI Claim Centers if they have questions. Individuals calling the UI Claim Center may encounter long wait times and are encouraged to use the call back feature. They will be given an opportunity to select this option and receive a return call from UI staff versus waiting on hold for long periods.

During the press conference, Dunleavy said his administration has close coordination with the US Department of Labor, the Alaska delegation in DC., and working closely with the Alaska legislature and working to get red tape out of the way.

Gov. Dunleavy said, "And we need to move very quickly to help our state, our people in battling this health crisis, but as we mentioned the economic aspects as well. President Trump today signed House Resolution 6021, which benefits individuals who experienced barriers to employment due to the coronavirus, provides $500 million in emergency administrative grants to the states for unemployment insurance, provides $500 million to states that experienced at least 10% increases in unemployment and waives federal unemployment insurance requirements for work, search, and one weekwaiting period."

The governor said, "We also were able to talk directly with the President this morning, Alaska was, I asked the President to do everything you can to put a lot of this money that's coming out of Congress, and I have to thank Congress for working at an incredible rate of speed to put that money in more of a block grant approach to Alaska."

Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer for the state of Alaska spoke during the press conference announcing three additional, new cases today - two from the Fairbanks area, and one from the Ketchikan area.

Dr. Zink said the details on their travel history is still unknown saying the two news cases from Fairbanks were people who had not traveled outside the United States in the last two weeks. "And so we're trying to establish if they were contacts to the other Fairbanks people or if these are new community cases."

To add the last update on their website, Dr. Zink said, "We had 513 tests that had been done, and that included the nine previous causes that were announced, these three additional ones will come out in the data tomorrow."

Zink said, "It's important to remember again that the test is a very important tool, it really helps a lot with containment. But if people are not symptomatic it's not nearly as useful. so it's not a good time to get the test. If you just traveled we want to watch for those symptoms."

She said, "Something that's just really hitting home, the more case investigation we do is that if you have mild symptoms if you're not feeling a little bit well, a little runny nose a little cough, even a low grade fever and you traveled up by the lower 48, or to another country you really need to stay home. And in general just if you're not feeling well, stay away from other people."

Dr. Zink said, "We're getting more and more data out about how long this virus lives on surfaces. Again afew months ago we didn't know this virus existed. We had initial estimates and information and that continues to change and updated. We try to bring you the latest and the most up to date information that we possibly can .If we had if we'd known about this virus for the last 30 years, we'd be able to have a lot more information for you but as soon as we get that information our goal is to share it with you so we can make the best decisions as individuals."

Thursday afternoon the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center learned from the Governor’s press conference there had been a second positive test result for COVID-19 in Ketchikan. This is the second positive test result for COVID-19 in Ketchikan. This second individual also had a history of travel to the lower 48. Upon experiencing symptoms of illness, the individual self-isolated and sought testing through a Ketchikan clinic. The individual is the spouse of the individual who had the first positive test result in Ketchikan. 

Ketchikan Public Health officials have made contact with this individual and will continue to monitor their condition to ensure continued self-isolation. Public Health officials will initiate a contact investigation and reach out to any person who may have come into contact with this individual. Public Health will notify and isolate additional persons as appropriate. 

The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center wants to reassure the public that the EOC is working closely with Ketchikan Public Health to identify anyone who may be at risk for having contact with this individual. The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center will keep the public informed of any information that is needed for community health and safety. 

Specifically, if you have traveled outside of Ketchikan, it is recommend that you self-isolate in your home for at least 14 days after your return. 

The Ketchikan airport terminal building and ferry have been thoroughly disinfected and daily cleaning continues to be a high priority. The Ketchikan airport gift shop, the snack bar, and the bar are closed until further notice. Alaska Airlines scheduled flights are still coming into Ketchikan as normal.

Effective Tuesday, March 17, at 6 p.m., all Pioneer Homes were closed to visitors, including family. The PeaceHealth New Horizons Long-term Care unit is currently closed to all visitors.

The community of people who are homeless, and the service providers they depend on, face unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The COVID-19 pandemic will have a potentially disproportionate impact on people experiencing homelessness in Ketchikan.  The Ketchikan EOC is concerned with these challenges to our homeless population and the organizations that provide services to them are working in concert to address the Before, During, and After of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

TheKetchikan EOC objective is to provide for the health and well-being of Ketchikan's homeless population during this health crisis, enable social distancing within the homeless population while allowing organizations to provide ongoing services, and to provide the capacity to isolate / quarantine an individual(s) should they become symptomatic. 

The Ketchikan EOC has been in contact with First City Homeless Shelther (FCHS), Women in Safe Homes (WISH), PATH and the Salvation Army to provide 24-hour services.  Additionally, greater social distancing for the homeless community can be facilitated through the use of a larger facilities to include tents and the temporary use of the unrenovated KRYF building for isolation of a limited number of individuals.   Two local hotels in Ketchikan (The Landing and Salmon Falls) have offered temporary space to house PATH residents in the event isolation / quarantine of individuals is required.  

With businesses being closed or operating under reduced hours in response to the Governor's Health Mandate portable toilets with hand washing stations are being contracted to provide hygienic restrooms for homeless individuals.  Areas identified for placement of the portable toilets are Thomas Basin (next to the Salvation Army), Creek Street Bridge, Berth-3, Parking lot next to the Police Station, and the Plaza Bus stop.  The stations will be serviced daily to allow for replenishment of supplies and cleaning.  Should the need arise additional stations are available to be placed in identified areas.

Continuity of operations for FCHS, WISH, PATH and the Salvation Army in Ketchikan is underway with EOC personnel meeting with various staff from these local organizations to provide a continuity of operations plan that will address staff shortages due to COVID-19.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the Ketchikan EOC is working with Ketchikan City and Borough leaders to ensure people experiencing homelessness are included in response plans to the crisis.

The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) encourages citizens and travelers to continue to follow health alert guidance for the traveling public, click here (pdf).

On the Web:

Daily Updates ADHSS & Mandates & Alerts:

The number of tests administered is tracked and provided on a statewide basis, updated daily on the Alaska Department of Health and Services (DHSS) website at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/id/Pages/COVID-19/monitoring.aspx

Source of News:

Office of Governor Michael Dunleavy
www.gov.alaska.gov

Ketchikan EOC
www.kgbak.us

Alaska Dept. of Labor
www.dol.alaska.gov

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