(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - In response to the updates to Alaska Health Mandate 10, the Kethcikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has set up a COVID-19 testing site at the airport parking lot on the Ketchikan side to be able to test passengers arriving from out of state. The testing will be provided to travelers entering Alaska, whether by plane or boat. 

Health Mandate 10.1 [interstate and international travel requirements] will be effective at 12:01 a.m. on June 6, 2020. All persons entering Alaska from another state or country must: 

• Complete a Traveler Declaration Form, 

AND One of the following options:

1. Arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within the last 72 hours and present results upon arrival.
2. Arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 5 days before departure to Alaska; obtain a second COVID-19 PCR test when you arrive in Alaska, and minimize interactions until the second test result is received and that test is also negative;
3. Participate in a COVID-19 PCR test when you arrive in Alaska, and self-quarantine until negative results arrive; or
4. Self-quarantine for 14 days at your expense or the duration of your trip whichever is shorter.
5. If you are an essential worker: Follow the work plan that your employer filed with the State of Alaska.
6.  If you have previously had COVID-19 at least three weeks prior to travel to Alaska; are asymptomatic; and have a medical provider’s note of recovery, you do not have to be re-tested or self-quarantine.
7. Alaska residents who travel out of state for five days or less are not required to be tested before leaving or prior to returning to Alaska and nay choose to follow Option 3 or 4 above. 

Health Mandate 10.1 and additional information for travelers is available at: https://covid19.alaska.gov/travelers/

Why was the Ketchikan side of the airport ferry parking lot selected instead of the airport? 

The mandate requires a quarantine or a negative COVID-19 test for all travelers entering Alaska, regardless of the mode of transportation. As such, the EOC will be providing testing to any passenger arriving from out of state, whether by plane or boat. While the Kethcikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) understands that it may be more convenient for some travelers for testing to be provided at the airport itself, the EOC sought a location that would be accessible to the wide variety of ways that individuals arrive into Ketchikan. The EOC also took into consideration the space needed in order to safely set up a testing center. The airport terminal building and the surrounding area of the airport terminal have space limitations. 

With the opening of Alaska, the Kethcikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) anticipates that there will soon be additional private and commercial planes and vessels coming up from the lower 48. According to the AMHS website, the ferry from Bellingham is scheduled to resume trips to Ketchikan on June 29th.  The Ketchikan side of the airport ferry parking lot is a location that is centrally located in Ketchikan, is accessible to all of these incoming passengers, and has the adequate space needed for a safe testing site. 

How will the Ketchikan testing site work?  

For the first weekend of operation starting on June 6th, there will be two separate shifts of operation:  from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 

Individuals serving as greeters, screeners, and test collectors will be onsite to coordinate with the arrival of each incoming northbound commercial aircraft. 

The greeters will provide general information to incoming passengers about the requirements of the travel mandate, the traveler declaration form, and provide general information. The screeners will collect travel declaration forms and ask specific questions regarding whether the traveler has already obtained a negative PCR COVID-19 test, would like to obtain a test through the clinic, or would like to self-quarantine for 14 days. Once the choice of the traveler is determined, the screener will assist the traveler with the necessary paperwork.  If the traveler opts to participate in the testing clinic, a consent form will be provided and the passenger will go on to the test site. The test collectors, who are local health care providers, will administer the test and ensure that the necessary paperwork and follow-up information has been received.

Following the test collection, the health care providers will properly attend to the chain of custody of the test samples and process the samples for transport to the testing laboratory.  The test results will be provided to the health care provider, who will then contact the patient with the results. If it is the first test that the traveler has taken, travelers will be advised to self-quarantine until test results are received.

Each out of state traveler who plans to stay in Alaska for more than seven days will be issued a voucher for a follow-up COVID-19 test to be conducted 7-14 days after arrival. Travelers seeking a follow-up test will be advised to minimize interactions until the second test result is received and that test is also negative. 

Is there a cost for the test?

No, there is no cost to the traveler for the tests conducted at the Ketchikan EOC testing site. 

When will the test results be available?  

The test sample will be collected by a health care professional using a nasopharengeal, nasal, or oral swab. The collection samples will be sent by aircraft to a laboratory in Seattle. Our target is for results to be provided within 24 hours of being tested.  However, with the new process in place it could take as long as 72 hours for results to be provided until any bugs have been worked out of the process.  Individuals will be notified of results via telephone call from a health care provider when results have been received.

Weekly Free Drive-Up Clinic Scheduled for Each Wednesday and Thursday

In addition to the daily testing site at the airport for arriving passengers, the Kethcikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will continue to provide a weekly drive-up testing clinic.  The EOC had another good turnout for last week’s drive-up testing clinic, with 116 individuals participating on June 3 and 4.  Each person tested will receive notification from a health care provider with the test results - either positive or negative - as soon as the results are received. 

The free drive-up clinic will be provided each Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Berth 3. The weekly drive-up testing clinic will be offered to anyone with symptoms of COVID-19, and is also open to certain asymptomatic individuals, including: those who have health conditions; are age 65 or older; health care workers or care providers; first responders; or those who have recently traveled.

The total number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Ketchikan remains at sixteen (16). There have been no new positive cases reported in Ketchikan since April 20, 2020.

On the Web:

Information on the EOC’s response to COVID-19 in Ketchikan is updated daily on the COVID-19 Response page at https://www.kgbak.us/913/COVID-19-Response. 

Additional current information is available on the State of Alaska’s website at www.covid19.alaska.gov.

Edited By Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Kethcikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
https://www.kgbak.us/913/COVID-19-Response

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