Pablo Arauz Peña, KTOO

Juneau is relaxing COVID-19 rules for people who have been vaccinated against the disease.

Deputy city manager Mila Cosgrove says if someone is fully vaccinated — meaning they’ve completed their vaccination series and it has been two weeks since their final dose — they no longer have to wear a mask. The new guidelines mirror the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines that also relax social distancing measures for fully vaccinated people.

Cosgrove says masking rules may differ for businesses, such as grocery stores.

“Certainly, private businesses and other employers, office buildings, etc. can adjust their protocols accordingly. Private businesses may choose to still require people to mask but I think that’s going to be done on a case by case basis,” Cosgrove said.

The guidelines say unvaccinated people should still wear masks to protect those around them, including children who are not eligible for vaccination.

“Youth under the 11 and under who cannot be vaccinated will be required to continue masking as well as any youth or adults aged 12 that up who have not yet had that opportunity,” Cosgrove said.

Schools in Juneau are also requiring faculty to continue masking. And Cosgrove says masking is still required for anyone using public transit, as well as on planes.

Cosgrove says as of today 65.8% of people in Juneau aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated.

In this newscast:

• Some Ketchikan businesses have shut their doors and community events have been canceled after emergency officials raised the community’s pandemic risk level to its highest level.
• Across Alaska, internet users are being offered $75-per-month discounts as pandemic relief.
• Guardian Flight has settled a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2019 air ambulance crash in Southeast Alaska that killed three people.
• Former Republican Governor Sean Parnell will be the new leader of the University of Alaska Anchorage, the state’s largest public university.

In this newscast:

• The small cruise ship season has started in Juneau and the visitor industry is gearing up for it — though it’s not clear how many people are coming.
• The Admiralty Island village of Angoon has received nearly $2 million in federal funding to build a visitor center.
• The proposal to tamp down on the sale and use of fireworks in Juneau is headed to a public hearing and final vote.
• Authorities in Ketchikan have for the first time raised the community’s pandemic risk level to its highest mark.

In this newscast:

• Nearly two weeks after a cyberattack, the Alaska Court System’s email came back online today.
• Two born and raised Skagwegians have developed an e-commerce website for Alaska businesses to help their parents stay afloat during the pandemic.
• The Alaska House passed the operating budget bill yesterday.

In this newscast:

• Many Instagram users reported that content they shared about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day had disappeared.
• The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says its latest guidance for cruise ship operators could allow passenger voyages to resume by midsummer.
• Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s administration has granted the governor’s former chief of staff a waiver from state ethics laws in his new job at ConocoPhillips.

In this newscast:

• An invasive fungus is threatening Alaska’s frogs, toads, newts and salamanders.
• Tiny homes have gained traction in recent years as an affordable housing alternative, but building them legally poses a challenge in many communities.
• About half of Alaskans who responded to an online survey say they had not gotten a COVID-19 vaccine yet.
• The chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court says the court system did not receive a ransom demand or any direct message from those involved in a cybersecurity attack last week.