Due to an increase in respiratory disease rates —including COVID-19 — throughout Southeast and in Wrangell, the Wrangell Medical Center has re-implemented a mandatory masking policy for its visitors, patients and staff.
“It was in response to what we were seeing as increased respiratory illnesses both in the community and in the region, COVID of course being one of those,” hospital administrator Carly Allen said last week. “We’ve also been following influenza A and B and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), as well as … other respiratory illnesses that aren’t identified and don’t have names.”
RSV is an infection with cold-like symptoms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people recover within one to two weeks, but the disease can be serious for young children and older adults.
The hospital’s new masking policy was implemented two weeks ago after the community transmission level for COVID-19 moved to high. “(The community transmission level) is one of the indicators that health care uses to help us determine our risk and if we need to add interventions,” said Allen.
Wrangell has experienced an influx of statewide and regionwide travelers in recent weeks, Allen explained. New mask requirements are in part a preventative measure, as people from areas with higher transmission visit town. “It’s much easier to get in front of it than be behind it.”
Wrangell has reported half a dozen new COVID-19 infections in the past month, with more than 100 cases across Southeast during that same period and more than 2,400 statewide, according to Alaska Department of Health data.
Anecdotally, COVID and other respiratory disease caseloads in Wrangell may be somewhat higher than those reported by the state, Allen continued. “We live and work in the community, so we’re seeing and we’re talking to people who have respiratory illnesses who aren’t testing,” she said. “Which is fine, it’s peoples’ choice.”
The state’s numbers reflect only those cases reported to the Health Department, not at-home tests.
Just because the hospital is putting protections in place doesn’t mean community members should be overly concerned about transmission in Wrangell. “People really need to evaluate their own risk and make that determination for themselves,” said Allen.
“In general, health care facilities have to manage communicable diseases differently than your average community business or event,” said Allen. The facility treats people with high-risk conditions, and while community members can choose whether they’d like to incur risk by visiting a business or attending an event, many people visiting the hospital do not have a choice. “We have an obligation to keep our facility as safe as possible,” she said of the mask policy.
The safety measures aren’t just for patients — they’re for staff as well. A surge of COVID or another respiratory disease among staff could interfere with the hospital’s ability to provide essential services.
The recent statewide COVID caseload bump is small compared to two days in late January 2022, when the Health Department reported almost 6,000 new cases statewide and Alaska led all states with its rate of infection per 100,000 residents.
Wrangell set its own record of 185 cases between Dec. 30, 2021, and Jan. 30, 2022.
The Wrangell hospital plans to continue monitoring caseloads and will reevaluate its masking policy in the coming weeks.
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