Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants to start reopening Alaska’s economy as soon as possible, and he points to the relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases as evidence the state is ready.
“We’ve got the best numbers in the country,” Dunleavy said Monday at an Anchorage press conference.
Alaska has the fewest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 319. Wyoming has the next fewest cases with 426.
Dunleavy attributes the low numbers to Alaskans, whose adherence to social distancing and other mitigation measures has paid off.
“Our health care workers, they have been waiting for this wave,” Dunleavy said, “but because of you it’s not hit us in the way that we feared.”
After having allowed elective medical procedures to resume last week, this week the governor is eyeing the retail sector. More details would be provided on Tuesday, Dunleavy said, but his administration had been discussing allowing some restaurants and movie theaters to open, provided they could still adhere to social distancing measures.
“We want to move our business sector along, but we want to make sure there are no spikes,” Dunleavy said, referring to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases once people start co-mingling again.
Some experts have warned the U.S. needs to dramatically increase its testing capacity before reopening the economy, so any new cases can be detected and properly handled as soon as possible. One panel from Harvard estimated 20 million tests a day would be needed nationwide in order to safely open the economy.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink agreed that testing was the key to reopening the economy “which is why we want communities to test broadly,” she said Monday.
However, while samples can be collected around the state, the actual testing can only be done in a few locations around the state. Earlier this month, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium received 40 rapid testing machines from Abbott, a medical diagnostics company, which were distributed to rural Alaska.
The governor remained adamant the diligence of Alaskans would help to contain the spread of the virus once the economy reopens.
“It’s our intent to not have a spike,” Dunleavy said. “We have to have faith in Alaskans. This can only work if Alaskans want it to.”
