Wrangell's mask mandate was rescinded at Tuesday's borough assembly meeting, while testing rules for travelers were reaffirmed with some minor changes.
Both the mask mandate and traveler rules were adopted by the assembly at the beginning of March, in response to a significant spike of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg as well as several cases in town.
However, Wrangell's Emergency Operations Center recommended the city repeal the mask mandate as cases have declined, lessening the risk of an outbreak in the community.
The mask mandate required that almost everyone in Wrangell, with some exceptions, wear a face mask or other face covering when in public settings. Violators risked a $25 fine. The assembly unanimously voted to end the mask mandate with no discussion of the ordinance at its Tuesday meeting.
The Emergency Operations Center also recommended that, while the mask mandate could go away, the assembly reaffirm ordinances requiring interstate and intrastate travelers visiting Wrangell get tested before arriving in town or at the airport upon arrival.
However, the ordinance amended city rules for travelers to make clear "those who are fully vaccinated do not need to practice strict social distancing while awaiting test results."
Airport testing is currently scheduled to remain available through the end of June, according to the assembly ordinance.
The testing requirements are some of the easiest and least interfering ways the city can determine if COVID-19 is coming into the community, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said. As such, the EOC recommended they stay in place at this time.
There is no penalty in the ordinance for failing to comply with the testing rules.
The travel ordinances brought before the assembly were similar to the ones approved at the beginning of the month, but with some changes, Von Bargen pointed out.
"We wanted to update the ordinances before you previously, specifically to put new CDC [Centers for Disease Control] guidance in there that allows for fully vaccinated individuals to still test when they come into the community, but not have to quarantine while they are waiting for their test results," she said. "There were a couple of other minor changes made to the ordinances as well."
One of the other minor changes, Von Bargen said, included fully replacing the ordinance's reference to international travelers and instead referencing federal CDC guidelines.
Both the interstate travel ordinance and the intrastate ordinance are scheduled to expire April 13. The ordinances were approved unanimously by the assembly.
As of Monday, there are two active cases in Wrangell. The community has counted a total of 36 cases since the start of the pandemic about a year ago, but all have recovered so far. The most recent case was a staff member of Wrangell's secondary schools, reported on Monday and prompting the middle school and high school to move to distance learning. The elementary school has continued normal operations.
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