The Wrangell Borough has returned to requiring COVID-19 testing of unvaccinated travelers — locals and visitors — who arrive from out of state. The requirement had expired in June.
The assembly approved the immediate reinstatement of testing at its July 27 meeting. The requirement will remain in place through Sept. 30.
“Identifying positive cases through testing upon arrival from outside the state is still one of the most effective ways to keep the community safe from the virus being brought into town,” Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen wrote in her recommendation to the assembly last week.
Nationwide, an average of 70,000 new cases a day were reported last week, more than double of two weeks earlier.
COVID-19 case counts also are surging across Alaska, with more than 3,000 reported since July 15, including half a dozen in Wrangell.
“This ordinance requires all persons (except those who are fully vaccinated) traveling into Wrangell from outside the state, arriving via all modes,” including plane, state ferry or private boat, to follow testing protocols for COVID-19, Von Bargen wrote.
“The exception is Alaska residents, who may choose to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days in lieu of testing.”
The are no fines or other penalties in the ordinance
Free COVID testing is available at the airport when the morning and afternoon Alaska Airlines flights arrive. The state is paying for the testing, under a contract with the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which has operated the testing site since last year.
“We’re seeing [case] explosions as close as Cordova and Sitka,” Von Bargen told the assembly. “And it’s disturbing in other places around the country. I’m not hitting the panic alarm by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s one tool that allows us to be able to catch positive cases if they’re there.”
The free testing is available to anyone in the community, not just travelers.
Travelers coming into Wrangell should complete a travel declaration form at the state’s online travel portal at http://www.alaska.covidsecureapp.com.
“Any person currently positive with COVID-19 cannot travel to Wrangell until they have been released from isolation, or cleared for travel, by a medical provider or public health agency,” according to the Wrangell ordinance.
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