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Ketchikan - Statewide: First In-state Alaskan Death from COVID-19; Statewide Total 89 Confirmed Cases; Ketchikan Total 12 Posted & Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN - The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) reported Friday afternoon the state’s first in-state death related to COVID-19. 

This is the second Alaska death. The first Alaska resident to have died from COVID-19 was a resident of Southeast Alaska who died on March 16 at a health care facility in King County, Washington, after a prolonged stay there.

 “Our hearts go out to the deceased's friends and family members,” said DHSS Commissioner Adam Crum. “We are also thinking of the health care providers who cared for this patient. We will continue to work tirelessly with our federal, state, local and Tribal partners to effectively respond to this crisis.”

The individual who died Friday was a 63-year-old person with underlying health conditions. The deceased was receiving treatment at an Anchorage hospital and had tested positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on March 25. 

“As we grieve this loss, we need to collectively resolve to do our part to prevent the spread of this virus,” said Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink. “This is an unfortunate reminder that COVID-19 is a life-threatening illness.”

In addition to the announcement of the second Alaska death, DHSS announced 16 new positive cases in six Alaska communities – Anchorage (9), Girdwood (1), Fairbanks (3), North Pole (1), Juneau (1), and Ketchikan (1). This brings Alaska's total case count to 85.

Nine of Friday's new cases are male; seven are female. Eight of the new cases are adults, seven are aged 19-29 and one is a child. Nine of the cases are close contacts of previously diagnosed cases, one is travel-related and six are still under investigation. 

As of Friday, 27 of the 89 cases were identified as travel related, 9 were non-travel related, and 30 were close contact related. There are 19 cases still depending identifcation by the DHSS as to exposure. The largest number of confirmed cases have been in the Anchorage area with the majority of those cases travel related.

To date, 5 individuals with confirmed cases have been hospitalized and 2 Alaskans have died.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services on Thursday announced 10 new positive cases of COVID-19 in four Alaska communities – Anchorage (5), Fairbanks (2), North Pole (2), and Juneau (1). This brings Alaska’s total case count on Thursday to 69.

The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) announced one new postive case on Thursday in Ketchikan bringing the total number of cases in Ketchikan to 12.

According to a public release from the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC), this individual does not have a history of recent travel, and has been identified as having been in close contact to two (2) persons who were previously reported as testing positive to COVID-19. This individual was identified through the contact investigation by Public Health, was placed into self-quarantine, and was tested for COVID-19 at the direction of Public Health. 

Following the positive test results, Ketchikan Public Health officials contacted 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 Ketchikan individual. Public Health will notify and isolate additional persons as appropriate. Through the contact investigation, Public Health will direct testing of persons that meet criteria based on contact with any confirmed case of COVID-19. Individuals who meet the criteria are being tested in accordance with CDC and State of Alaska priorities.

The Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is coordinating with Peace Health and the State to establish a list of resources by late next week. Peace Health has surge capacity planning in place. With a current capacity for 9 moderate COVID-19 ill patients in an isolation unit, with ability to expand to approximately 50 additional beds for moderate COVID-19 patients. Additional plans exist to repurpose other areas of the hospital in order to add up the additional 35-41 beds. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

Alaska: Governor Issues COVID-19 Health Mandates on Social Distancing, Limiting Intrastate Travel – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) on Friday issued the State of Alaska’s 11th and 12th COVID-19 Health Mandates to protect the public health of Alaskans and disrupt the spread of the virus.

COVID-19 Health Mandate 011: Social Distancing: “All persons in Alaska, except for those engaged in essential health care services, public government services, and essential business activities, are mandated to remain at their place of residence and practice social distancing,” effective March 28, 2020 at 5:00pm. The mandate will be reevaluated by April 11, 2020.

Mandate 011 orders individuals to practice social distancing, orders closure of non-essential businesses, and orders employers to take reasonable precautions.

COVID-19 Health Mandate 012: Intrastate Travel: “All in-state travel between communities, whether resident, worker, or visitor, is prohibited unless travel is to support critical infrastructure; or for critical personal needs,” effective March 28, 2020 at 8:00am. The mandate will be reevaluated by April 11, 2020. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 20202

Fish Factor: US seafood industry gets $300 million in COVID-19 relief, hopes for more protections By LAINE WELCH - The U.S. seafood industry received a $300 million assist from the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on March 27, and a wide coalition of industry stakeholders is hoping for more. 

Fishery recipients in the relief bill include tribes, persons, communities, processors, aquaculture and other related businesses. SeafoodNews.com reports that those eligible for relief must have “revenue losses greater than 35 percent as compared to the prior 5-year average revenue, or any negative impacts to subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial fisheries.”

The funds will be provided on a rolling basis within a fishing season through September 30, 2021. Two percent can be used for administration and oversight activities.

The package follows a bipartisan letter sent on March 23 to Congress by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markie of Massachusetts and Alaska’s Republican Senators Murkowski and Sullivan.. They asked, among other things, that fishermen be able to collect unemployment insurance, get help with vessel loan payments and ensure that the global pandemic does not compromise management of U.S. fisheries.

Also last week a coalition of nearly 200 seafood stakeholders sent a 12-page letter to the White House and Congress asking the government to purchase at least $2 billion worth of seafood and provide another $1.5 billion in relief for businesses and fishing communities. 

The letter states that nearly 70% of the more than $102 billion that consumers paid for U.S. fishery products in 2017 was spent in dining out as opposed to eating it at home. As a result, they said that for many fisheries the sudden shutdown of restaurants and other storefronts has caused demand to evaporate overnight, “threatening the economic viability of the entire supply chain.”

Undercurrent News reported that the letter also asks the government to appropriate a minimum of $500 million to purchase surplus seafood that can be shipped overseas or supplied to U.S. hospitals and state and local government programs. 

And while the Department of Homeland Security has declared that fishermen and processing workers are “essential critical infrastructure,” the letter asks that support staff also receive the same designation in order to continue operations amid any self-quarantine orders.

The stakeholders also urge the government to launch a “Buy American” campaign to promote consumption of seafood, along with expedited visa plans that will help to quickly staff and reopen businesses and fishing operations when travel restrictions are reduced.

Meanwhile, in Alaska the Governor's Economic Stabilization Task Force is organizing a fisheries sub-committee to address safety provisions. Staff at the office of Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) is in contact with the Dunleavy administration about forming groups to report on the needs of each region. Sam Rabung, director of ADF&G’s commercial fisheries division, is the state point person for fisheries related COVID-19 concerns.  - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

Alaska - National: President Trump Signs $2 Trillion Emergency Spending Bill Posted/Edited By MARY KAUFFMAN . - President Trump signed the historic $2 trillion economic relief package into law Friday afternoon amounting to the largest emergency spending measure in U.S. history. The CARES Act was signed by President Trump after the House of Representatives passed the historic $2.2 trillion economic relief package by an overwhelming voice vote Friday. The Senate approved the measure Wednesday evening with a 96-0 vote.

President Trump thanked Republicans and Democrats for coming together, setting aside their differences, and putting America first.

What does it mean? 

American families, healthcare workers, and small businesses will get the economic support they need to get through this challenging time. That includes $1,200 payments to qualifying Americans, $100 billion in direct support for hospitals, and over $370 billion to small business owners to keep their employees on the payroll.
 
Alaska Congressman Don Young (R-AK) was on the House Floor earlier Friday for the quorum call and the subsequent passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

 "The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact families across our country, not only in terms of their physical wellbeing, but also their financial health. Countless families in Alaska have been forced to stay home or laid off, but the bills continue piling up. Today [Friday], I went to the House Floor and was present for the quorum call as we passed the CARES ACT. The legislation passed out of the House [Friday] is crucially needed, and will help our nation's most vulnerable make ends meet," said Congressman Don Young (R-AK).

Young said, "Too many families have found themselves suffering from unemployment or underemployment through no fault of their own. [Friday's] bill takes necessary steps to support Americans through this challenging time. Individuals and families will receive direct cash payments; grants and loans will be available to help our small businesses meet payroll and rent; unemployment insurance will be temporarily expanded, and distressed industries that employ thousands of Americans will receive support. The CARES Act also provides needed support for our Native communities by providing funding to help health care providers, schools, and communities mitigate the impacts of COVID-19." - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

Southeast Alaska: Changes to the Inter-Island Ferry Authority Schedule in Response to COVID-19 - Starting on March 28th, the Inter-Island Ferry Authority (IFA) will implement a 4-day per week schedule. Ferry service between Prince of Wales and Ketchikan will operate on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays only, and passenger service will be limited to essential travel.

Essential travel includes people returning home, traveling for critical medical care, and those transporting essential goods and services. The total number of passengers permitted on board has been reduced by 75% to allow for sufficient social distancing. With ferry capacity limited, reservations are recommended and can be secured online at interislandferry.com. Ferry departure and arrival times remain unchanged. While terminals will be closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, IFA agents remain available by phone at 866-308-4848 seven days a week.

The IFA has taken additional measures to ensure the health and safety of onboard passengers. In addition to continual disinfection of surfaces, ship crew will be deep cleaning the ferry on non-sailing days. Galley food service will have a limited menu and will serve only “take-out” foods. Passenger screening measures have been implemented, and the IFA requests that people check-in early. The IFA will continue to monitor the situation and will provide more updates as additional changes are implemented.

“These are unprecedented times and we are committed to our employees, elders and passengers for their safety and essential travel.” explains Ron Curtis General Manager of the Inter-Island Ferry Authority. “We are working diligently to preserve the health of our communities, customers, and staff.” - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

The secret life of a red fox family
By NED ROZELL
A male red fox returns to a den with a snowshoe hare in spring 2019.
Photo By NED ROZELL

Alaska: The secret life of a red fox family By NED ROZELL - One year ago, in a world with the same mountains and valleys but feeling very different, we made a discovery.

My wife, daughter, two neighbor kids, three dogs and I were out enjoying the freedom of crust skiing, when cold overnight temperatures freeze a melting snow pack. A hard top layer allows skiing anywhere, not just the trail system.

We skated between spruce trees to a cold spot about a mile from home, where a small hill of poplar trees and rose bushes rises from surrounding low tundra plants. There, we noticed a hole in the hill at knee level. The snow at the entrance to the opening was dirty, with tracks we couldn’t identify.

At that moment, I found a use for the trail camera my wife had just given me for my birthday. The next morning, we returned. I strapped the camera to a skinny spruce, aiming it at the hill.

Less than three hours later, the motion-sensitive camera snapped its first image: A red fox had emerged from the hole, sniffing at the ground where humans and dogs had shuffled the day before.

It felt like the woods had just whispered a secret. I hoped our many-legged presence there would not make the fox abandon its den site.

t did not, and over the next year, we saw the secret life of a red fox family.

At the beginning, in late March 2019, there were two characters in the drama: the dark-eyed female, smaller of body, her sides black as well as orange; and the dashing male. He was larger, his coat a brilliant orange, with black highlights on his flowing tail, feet and ears.

Both foxes were small by dog standards, with the female probably about the same weight — 12 pounds — as our Chihuahua mix, Pepe. The foxes’ flowing tails make them seem much larger.

One day after I installed the camera, the handsome male appeared. In his mouth was a ball of white fluff — a snowshoe hare. Hares became a common site on the still images, with both foxes returning to the den with one about every other day. Red squirrels were often in the foxes’ mouths, too. They probably returned with many voles, but they were too small to see.

That the foxes were returning to the den, especially with food, was a hint that the female was pregnant. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

One of the biggest helps for me, in all of this, is the vast outdoors and clean air, water and land we have all around us in Alaska. I’ve spent too much time recently staring at my computer, reading news articles and worrying about people I love. So this last weekend, during an incredibly welcome blue sky day in Southeast Alaska, my partner, our baby, our dog and I set out on a walk into some sunlit, snowy alpine meadows in the Tongass National Forest.

The area we chose to hike isn’t the most pristine in the Tongass. It was heavily logged and mined more than a hundred years ago, and lower down, many trees are small and sickly looking. But the trail leads up into vast, open, snowy meadows. For that reason, it’s a favorite of cross country skiers, snow machiners, and us — walkers who carry snow shoes. To the right are views of Grandchild Ridge, a line of mountains where we camped one of my recent birthdays. To the left is Lynn Canal and the perpetual view of islands and water that any Southeast Alaska hiker knows.

As we walked, I thought about a few things, but foremost among them was how lucky we are to live in Alaska, where this kind of outdoors experience is even a possibility. Down south and in some more crowded locations, people are being advised to avoid trails — so many people are flocking to them that it’s the opposite of social distancing.

The calendar may say it’s spring, but here in Southeast Alaska, we’re only just starting to see and hear the signs of it. Crocuses emerging from frozen soil. Flocks of pine siskins twittering overhead. The call of the varied thrush, which a Juneau poet I know once referred to as “the rusty gates of spring re-opening,” is something that fills me with contentment to hear. I keep waiting for the hooting of a sooty grouse; each year, I look forward to walking up into the forest in search of them and making grouse soup and grouse stock — a wilder and healthier version of chicken soup.

We Alaskans, Americans and the rest of the world face uncharted waters in the months ahead. Hardworking Alaskans whose businesses, and jobs, are suddenly uncertain. Fisheries that might not be able to find essential workers for canneries and processors, and who face challenges trying to sell their fish once they catch it. Tourism-focused businesses that might not have clients. And that’s thinking only of the economic consequences of the pandemic, not the health consequences, which are very real and are growing. I’m worried for the elderly people I love. I’m worried for the many, and incredibly selfless and brave, family and friends who work in Alaska hospitals. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

RICH MANIERI: REASSURANCE IN THE MIDST OF CORONAVIRUS CRISIS - One of my many bosses in TV news once told me the media’s job is to reassure the public. I can’t remember the context, though I do remember dutifully nodding my head.

What did I know? I was 22 and reassurance sounded like a good thing.

Today, I’m not sure if reassurance is or has ever been the media’s responsibility. If it is, we’re doing a lousy job of it. I feel a lot of things when I turn on CNN or Fox News for the latest coronavirus update. Reassured isn’t among them.

In fact, if I look back at my own career of covering snowstorms, hurricanes and various other emergencies, I don’t recall being very reassuring. Of course, in my defense, it’s difficult to be reassuring when you can’t feel your feet or you’re dodging a flying a stop sign.

However, here and now, as you scour the countryside for toilet paper and biscuits, I am going to honor my news director of long ago and do my very best to reassure you.

While COVID-19 needs to be taken seriously, we’re not going to run out of food or other essentials. Sure, there’s a burgeoning black market for Charmin and hand sanitizer but I’m reasonably confident the shelves will be restocked and Americans will, once again, return to the good ol’ days of practicing shoddy hygiene. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

RAY HAYNES: CONSUMERS SPARED AS LIBERAL PROVISIONS FAIL TO MAKE CORONAVIRUS RESCUE PACKAGE- Consumers who need access to credit during coronavirus crisis and other emergencies faced a very close call this week when some in Congress tried to sneak a provision into the COVID-19 economic rescue package that would have limited options for consumer cash and credit at the worst possible time. Policymakers who understand the devastating impact so-called rate caps have on workers and families ensured the coronavirus rescue package did not include one.

While consumers were spared for the moment, as Congress considers additional initiatives to rescue the U.S. economy, it’s clear Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House progressives will not, to paraphrase Rahm Emanuel, let the global COVID-19 crisis go to waste.

Speaker Pelosi and her followers doubled down on legislative proposals full of billions of dollars of handouts and subsidies, despite intense criticism for their previous bloated, bailout-rich coronavirus “relief” packages, now known as #coronapork. Members of Congress, analysts, watchdog groups and many others sounded the alarm about giveaways to special interests and progressive pet projects such as the Green New Deal, the USPS, student debt forgiveness and financial “reform” wish list items that would hurt the very consumers their supporters claim they want to help. - More...
Saturday AM - March 28, 2020

Political Cartoon: Stimulus checks to Americans
By Dave Granlund ©2020, PoliticalCartoons.com
Distributed to paid subscribers for publication by Cagle Cartoons, Inc.