A member of Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Airport Screening Task Force greets passengers disembarking from a flight arriving at the Juneau International Airport on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

A member of Capital City Fire/Rescue’s Airport Screening Task Force greets passengers disembarking from a flight arriving at the Juneau International Airport on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. (Peter Segall | Juneau Empire)

City votes against local quarantine measure, citing state mandate

Governor’s mandate seems like enough for Assembly.

The headline of the article has been updated to provide additional context for the Assembly’s decision.

Juneau won’t be enacting a local extension of a 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers.

After meeting with Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum and Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly voted 8-1 against a local requirement that would order travelers from outside the state to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in Juneau in light of a state mandate.

Assembly member Loren Jones was the lone vote in favor of a local quaramtine ordinance. Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly members Maria Gladziszewski, Carole Triem, Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, Michelle Bonnet Hale, Greg Smith, Wade Bryson and Rob Edwardson voted against the emergency ordinance.

The vote came Wednesday night shortly after Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced updated guidance on the state mandate requiring out-of-state travelers to quarantine. Previously, the mandate was scheduled to expire on Friday, which led to the drafting of a local quarantine ordinance.

Instead of lifting the quarantine, as of 12:01 a.m. June 6, travelers will need to be tested within 72 hours of departure, may enter the state only upon showing a negative polymerase chain reaction test for COVID-19 and can’t enter the state if testing positive, according to the governor’s office.

A person may also provide negative results from within five days of departure, if they get tested again once arriving and limits interactions until the second test results are in, according to DHSS. All pre-tested travelers will receive a voucher for a second test that must be taken within one to two weeks of arrival.

[New mandate tells out-of-state travelers to get tested or quarantine]

Travelers who decline testing and are not a critical infrastructure workers must undergo a 14-day quarantine. Critical workforce personnel must follow their company’s community protective plan filed with the state.

People coming into the state may opt to be tested for COVID-19 on arrival and register with a testing site, but per the mandate they must quarantine at their own expense until the results are known and must isolate for duration of illness at their own expense if the results are positive.

Additionally, travelers who test upon arrival would receive a voucher for a second test that must occur within a week to two weeks of arrival and should minimize interactions until the second test yields negative results.

City Manager Rorie Watt asked Zink if his understanding that the mandate essentially preserves the state’s quarantine mandate while adding an “unless” for people who meet testing requirements was accurate.

“That’s exactly it,” Zink said. “The quarantine is still in place unless.”

Assembly members shared some concerns about Dunleavy’s plan, but said it ultimately preserved the quarantine and made a local extension generally unnecessary.

Municipal attorney Robert Palmer said the key difference between the proposed ordinance and the health mandate appeared to be that the mandate allowed for some testing exemptions. Palmer also cautioned that the new mandate was minutes-old at that point.

“The 14-day extension certainly has some problem areas, and the governor’s plan certainly has some holes in his plan,” Weldon said. “So we’re you’re dealt with two not-so-great choices, I would bow to what’s the most practical.”

She said opting for the governor’s mandate would make things as understandable as possible.

“This means that Juneauites, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing to keep ourselves safe,” Weldon said.

• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast for the week of March 25

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Tuesday, March 26, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The aging Tustumena ferry, long designated for replacement, arrives in Homer after spending the day in Seldovia in this 2010 photo. (Homer News file photo)
Feds OK most of state’s revised transportation plan, but ferry and other projects again rejected

Governor’s use of ferry revenue instead of state funds to match federal grants a sticking point.

The Shopper’s Lot is among two of downtown Juneau’s three per-hour parking lots where the cash payments boxes are missing due to vandalism this winter. But as of Wednesday people can use the free ParkSmarter app to make payments by phone. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Pay-by-phone parking for downtown Juneau debuts with few reported complaints

App for hourly lots part of series of technology upgrades coming to city’s parking facilities.

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

Annauk Olin, holding her daugher Tulġuna T’aas Olin, and Rochelle Adams pose on March 20, 2024, after giving a presentation on language at the Alaska Just Transition Summit in Juneau. The two, who work together at the Alaska Public Interest Research Group’s Language Access program, hope to compile an Indigenous environmental glossary. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Project seeks to gather Alaska environmental knowledge embedded in Indigenous languages

In the language of the Gwich’in people of northeastern Alaska, the word… Continue reading

The room where the House Community and Regional Affairs Committee holds its meeting sits empty on Tuesday. A presentation about an increase in the number of inmate deaths in state custody was abruptly canceled here. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Republican lawmakers shut down legislative hearing about deaths in Alaska prisons

Former commissioner: “All this will do, is it will continue to inflame passions of advocacy groups.”

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Monday, March 25, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Employees at the Kensington Mine removing tailings from Johnson Creek on Feb. 17 following a Jan. 31 spill of about 105,000 gallons of slurry from the mine, although a report by the mine’s owners states about half slurry reached the creek 430 meters away. (Photo from report by Coeur Alaska)
Emergency fisheries assessments sought after 105,000-gallon tailings spill at Kensington Mine

Company says Jan. 31 spill poses no risk to Berners Bay habitat, but NOAA seeks federal evaluation.

Most Read