The Wrangell Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening, Oct. 27. The main focus of the meeting was a discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation across the state. Multiple guest speakers from the state were invited into the discussion, to answer questions and talk about what people need to do to stay safe. Guests included DHSS Commissioner Adam Crum, Bryan Fisher with Alaska's COVID-19 Unified Command, DHSEM Deputy Director Paul Nelson, and Eliza Muse with DHSS.
It is pretty clear that Alaska is experiencing an acceleration of new COVID-19 cases, Fisher said. For several weeks now the state has seen over 200 new cases a day.
"Bad news is it's evident that there's pretty widespread community transmission across the state, and most regions of the state are in what we call the 'high alert' level on our COVID-19 dashboard," Fisher said. "But the good news is you're one of the few areas in the entire state that isn't in that situation."
Wrangell has seen a total of 20 cases since the start of the pandemic, at the time of writing. All of these cases have recovered, and the community is currently free of any confirmed COVID-19 cases. While Wrangell is in a better situation than other parts of the state, the guest speakers and assembly members wanted to make it clear that there is still danger. Large gatherings, it was particularly pointed out, pose a major risk. Another risk that was mentioned was spread amongst family members.
The "end" to the pandemic will come whenever there is a sufficient supply and distribution of a future vaccine, Fisher said. In the meantime, mitigation practices like wearing masks, socially distancing, and avoiding large gatherings were the best means of limiting the spread of the virus. These mitigation strategies are like speed bumps or potholes, Muse said. They exist to slow down the virus, not stop it.
Dr. Lynn Prysunka, with the Wrangell Medical Center, asked the guests to outline some ways the public could try to stay safe when out in public. Crum said that people who have recently travelled, and were awaiting test results, should isolate and wait for a negative test result. Those traveling and visiting a known hot spot, as well, should be conscientious of their surroundings and those around them. He also encouraged those isolating to make use of programs for having groceries and other goods delivered, or curbside pickup. Another idea that Fisher suggested, that the city might look into, is hiring short-term "quarantine employees" who could help purchase groceries or deliver items for those who can't go out themselves.
"We call it 'strict social distancing.' It's one of the phrases we use in Health Mandate 10 about intrastate travel," Crum said.
Von Bargen also asked what the city could do to encourage public safety in this time. She asked if local mandates would be a viable option.
"As we think about the potential for local mandates to help make sure that we don't end up with a major outbreak, whether that's limiting gathering size in our community or going to a local mask mandate ... Do you believe that putting those things in place will help prevent the spread in our community?" she asked.
What they are looking at for small towns, Crum said, is really trying to get people to be mindful when in large gatherings. Wear masks when out in groups, he gave as an example, be mindful when traveling, and don't go to big parties or gatherings after recently traveling. Fisher added that when it came to local mandates, it was really an issue of enforcement.
"Things like that, how you protect the community, it's really getting everybody just to understand those things that do work," Crum said.
Another topic of concern brought up during the meeting was the CARES Act. It seemed unlikely that the CARES Act would be extended in the near future, Von Bargen said, so she was wondering how Wrangell could keep some programs going, designed to assist in their COVID-19 response, if that funding would be going away. Nelson said that FEMA had a public assistance program. That could be a potential replacement for funding, though he said eventually it would close, as well. However, there was no end date currently set.
Other topics brought up during this discussion included coordinating the state with school districts for PPE needs, how to explain the risks of COVID-19 to the public compared to other viruses, and what the state was doing to ensure there were enough hospital beds and staffing.
Upon further discussion, it was decided to organize a special assembly meeting on Nov. 5 to open discussions on a local mask mandate. This decision was made after Captain Dorianne Sprehe, with the Emergency Operations Center, requested on behalf of the EOC that the assembly consider such a mandate. This will strictly be a discussion meeting, Mayor Steve Prysunka said, for public testimony and for the assembly to consider its next steps.
"I would recommend that we have, sort of, options available for us to look at, but that we will take action in a separate meeting," he said. "This meeting is strictly to gather input and have discussions. An opportunity for the community to come forward, and also an opportunity for the assembly to look at what's available in terms of options."
During the meeting, the assembly awarded certificates of appreciation to Sarah Whittlesey-Merritt, Elizabeth Stuart, and Deanna Reeves for their help running Wrangell's recent election.
Joan Sargent was appointed to fill an empty seat on the parks and recreation advisory committee, and Frank Roppel was appointed to fill an empty seat on the port commission.
They cancelled an assembly meeting scheduled for Nov. 24, planning to hold only one meeting next month on Nov. 10.
They also approved of a zoning amendment for Lot 1, Block 35, USS 1119.
Lastly, they gave direction to Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen to extend a contract renewal with their state lobbyist Ray Matiashowski.
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