Starting Aug. 11, all nonresident travelers arriving in Alaska must have negative COVID-19-test results from the previous 72 hours in hand or proof that they have been tested for COVID-19, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced.
Testing will still be available at airports, Dunleavy said Tuesday at a news conference in Anchorage. It will be free for Alaska residents but nonresidents will have to pay $250 if they want to be tested, and will need to quarantine until they receive negative test results. Travelers who have not yet received their results can still travel if they can prove they have been tested but will have to quarantine until their results come back.
Dunleavy announced the change last week amid a rise in COVID-19 cases both in the state and globally. Supply lines were beginning to “tighten” Dunleavy said, and the state wanted to maintain an adequate supply of COVID-19-related resources.
[Watch: Governor’s briefing on public schools, travel protocols]
Alaska residents returning to the state can still quarantine for 14 days rather than provide test results according to the updated mandate, and residents returning to rural Alaska will also have the option of testing at airport sites, according to the state’s traveler information website.
“All nonresidents must arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to departure or proof of a pending test result from a test taken within 72 hours prior to departure. This new strategy will allow us to focus resources on travel within the state. More details of the plan will be posted as information becomes available,” the website says.
Nonresident travelers will have to upload their negative test results to the Alaska Travel Portal, the website says, which will be available soon, it says.
• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnoEmpire.
