The City and Borough of Wrangell held a special meeting via teleconference last Sunday afternoon, March 22, to issue an emergency "shelter in place" order. The assembly recently granted the mayor and borough manager the ability to issue emergency orders in the interest of public health, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen issued Wrangell's first emergency orders last week, limiting restaurants to to-go service only and limiting public gatherings to a maximum of 10 people. This new emergency order comes in response to the World Health Organization declaring the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, Governor Mike Dunleavy declaring a public health disaster, and President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency.
While there are no known cases of the virus in Wrangell at the time of this article being written, cases are spreading around the state and in nearby communities. Wrangell officials decided to take this action to be proactive to mitigate the spread of the virus.
"Although it appears that home-rule municipalities as the City and Borough of Wrangell have the ability to mandate certain things, right now this is written as a voluntary compliance order," said Von Bargen. "It's written as a request, it is not written as a mandate. If I could add to that, with regards to quarantine, I do not believe we have the ability to quarantine. If we want to quarantine I believe we have to get permission from the state."
The shelter in place order contains 13 points, listing actions the borough requests people take for the foreseeable future. In summary, the public is asked to stay home and avoid contact with others as much as possible for the time being. Critical supply chain and service businesses, such as grocery stores and gas stations, will remain open, but the public is asked to resist the temptation to panic buy or hoard supplies. Businesses that are "non-critical" are asked to close to the public for a period of 14 days and conduct their work electronically as much as possible. If someone must leave their home, the order reads, they are asked to practice good hygiene and social distancing. Travelers coming into Wrangell are also asked to self-isolate for a two-week period. Anybody showing symptoms of COVID-19, or believe they have been exposed to the virus, are asked to contact their healthcare provider immediately, and to take steps to avoid further spread of the virus.
"Offer assistance to those in need," the final point of the order reads. "If you are healthy, offer to assist someone in quarantine with shopping or gathering supplies outside the home. If you know of someone in a high-risk category due to age or underlying medical condition, call to check on them, and offer them your assistance."
The order came into effect shortly after its passage, at 6 p.m. on March 22. The order can be found on the borough's website, under "Emergency Order 3-22-20", at http://www.wrangell.com.
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