During the Wrangell Borough Assembly on Tuesday evening, Sept. 8 they discussed a community risk assessment of Wrangell for COVID-19. This risk assessment was created by Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center, to help determine how at-risk the community might be to the pandemic.
The assessment takes into account information like the 7-day and 14-day average case count in Wrangell, the amount of community spread of COVID-19, the average number of close contacts per case, and the number of large gatherings occurring in Wrangell, among other factors. The risk level is put on a level from 1 to 4, "minimal" to "very high."
As of Aug. 31, according to an assessment summary attached to the meeting's agenda, Wrangell's overall community risk is at 2.5, between moderate and high risk. Jamie Roberts, with the EOC, said that more recently that is down to a risk level of 2.
"I wanted to bring it before the assembly and see if there were any questions that you had, so that we could address those before we start releasing it to the public," Roberts said. "Starting next week, I believe the thought is, then we would provide that. It will go to the school, it will go to the public, as well."
Assembly Member Ryan Howe wanted to know what changed between Aug. 31 and the present, how they dropped down to level 2. Roberts answered that the EOC took into consideration the percentage of the population that had been tested. That was somewhat of an unknown variable, she said, but now that they are seeing some broad testing across the community things were improved on their scales. Furthermore, she added that they are seeing turnaround on getting test results back improving. The EOC was also starting to see a change in Wrangell's "containment situation."
"The current cases had, what we're being told from Public Health, they had a low number of close contacts, so they were able to contact those close contacts in a timely manner and be fairly certain that everybody who may have been in contact has been put into quarantine," Roberts said. "There's some of those qualitative factors that change that situation, as well."
Howe also said some of the factors looked challenging to achieve, such as an increased number of EMS responders. He questioned if it would be possible for Wrangell to ever meet a level 1 minimal risk assessment. Roberts said that it was possible, Wrangell does not have to fall straight down the "minimal risk" column to achieve level 1, only a majority of factors.
Assembly Member Patty Gilbert, serving as vice-mayor and leading the meeting, wanted to know if the EOC took into account the pandemic situation in nearby communities when determining Wrangell's risk level. Roberts said that they were aware of the situations in other towns, so it served as some background information when they were putting the assessment together, but their table was mainly focused on Wrangell-specific data.
This was only a discussion item for the assembly, so no formal action was taken.
The assembly was also planning to consider a revised CARES Act funding plan for the Wrangell School District, but this item was removed from the agenda at the request of city administration. It will be considered at a later date, pending further information.
They also held a discussion on the city's ongoing water treatment plant renovation project.
Other items covered in the meeting include approval of a resolution amending the job description of the accounting generalist, adopting a new resolution encouraging the public wear face masks in response to the pandemic, and approval of a professional service agreement with Spawn Ideas for visitor branding in the amount of $44,980.
Prior to the meeting, the assembly held a workshop continuing their review of FY 2021 capital improvement projects.
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