Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sits at the base of the mountain from which it takes its Tlingit name, Jan. 8, 2019. (Photo by Zoe Grueskin/KTOO)
Every weekday from March 16 through March 27, First Student buses and staff will pass out prepackaged breakfasts and lunch in the parking lots at these locations:
Sayeik: Gastineau Elementary School • 8-10 a.m.
Cedar Park Apartments • 10-11 a.m.
Harborview Elementary School • 8-11 a.m.
Riverbend Elementary School • 8-11 a.m.
Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School • 8-11 a.m.
Glacier Valley Elementary School • 8-11 a.m.
Floyd Dryden Middle School • 8-11 a.m.
High school students from Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and Thunder Mountain High School can pick up their meals at Riverbend and Harborview respectively.
Harborview Elementary School. (Photo by Jeremy Hsieh/KTOO)
Public schools in Alaska will be closed to students until March 30 in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, state officials announced on Friday.
After-school activities will also be suspended. Plans for residential boarding schools are still being evaluated, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said at a news conference Friday evening, the day after Alaska announced its first positive case of COVID-19.
“What we’re basically doing is expanding spring break,” Dunleavy said. “So during that time there will be no students in the public schools. And there will be teachers and staff doing in-service, and doing work days during that time.”
School districts will “dedicate in-service days to fully organizing education plans for remote-delivered schooling should the need arise,” Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Commissioner Michael Johnson said in a memo.
At this time, students are expected to return on March 30, the memo said.
Dunleavy on Friday also announced a health alert advising Alaskans to follow guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that means limiting food-sharing, strengthening health screening for food workers, standing apart from each other in lines and increasing ventilation by keeping windows opened when possible.
The Anchorage School District, along with several other districts, had already announced school closures through next week in response to the coronavirus threat. Dunleavy’s announcement extends that closure longer and across the state.
“Though students won’t be in the schools, what will be happening is staff will be working on continuation of instructional delivery, so it should not be a problem for seniors to graduate,” Johnson said.
In Juneau, the city has ordered the closure of municipal libraries and many civic, cultural and recreational facilities through the end of the month.
Meanwhile, three members of the Anchorage Fire Department are at home, monitoring themselves for symptoms, after they responded to Alaska’s only confirmed coronavirus case. The City of Fairbanks announced Friday that one of the employees at its fire department is being tested for COVID-19.
Alaska Public Media’s Tegan Hanlon and Liz Ruskin contributed to this report.
Juneau’s downtown public library will close due to coronavirus concerns beginning Monday, March 16, 2020.
The City and Borough of Juneau will close many public buildings starting on March 14.
The announcement came amid a series of cancellations and closures in response to the coronavirus. Gov. Mike Dunleavy decided to close schools throughout the state through March 30. Public officials nationwide are encouraging people to stay home and avoid contact with others as much as possible in order to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Local closures include Augustus Brown Pool, Dimond Park Aquatic Center, Dimond Park Field House, Mount Jumbo Gym, Treadwell Arena, Juneau-Douglas City Museum, Zach Gordon Youth Center and all public libraries.
The facilities will be closed until March 30, though that could be extended. City Hall remains open at this time.
All Juneau School District facilities will remain closed to students during and after school. For now, staff will continue to report to work.
The sign outside the Alaska Pioneer Home in Juneau. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is placing new restrictions on visitors to long-term care facilities and nursing homes to shield residents from exposure to the coronavirus.
“Our elders in nursing homes are particularly vulnerable to this disease, and our actions are intended to protect vulnerable adults,”said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, in a statement Friday.
Only family members and medical providers will be allowed to visit. All visitors will be screened for illness, and their movement within the facility restricted.
The policy also says facilities should establish a process to evaluate large numbers of patients and workers with respiratory symptoms. And it advises homes they should figure out how they will operate if many of their regular employees are absent.
The Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association has endorsed the new policy.
The Alaska Pioneer Homes also announced policy changes Friday. They will have limited visiting hours and conduct health screenings on all visitors. The Pioneer Homes provide assisted living, a level less intensive than most nursing homes.
A triage tent sits outside the emergency department entrance to Bartlett Regional Hospital in March 13, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Katie Bausler)
Visitors to Bartlett Regional Hospital’s emergency department will now enter through a triage tent to be screened for coronavirus.
Upon entering, all visitors to the front entrance of the hospital will be asked a set of screening questions by hospital staff. Visitors to the emergency department will have to pass through a yellow triage tent to answer screening questions.
Based on their symptoms and answers to the questions, staff will determine whether further testing is needed.
The tent will be open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Outside of those hours and on weekends, people will only be able to enter the hospital through the emergency department.
Visitors who are not patients will also be asked screening questions.
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Juneau as of Friday. On Thursday, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services confirmed the state had its first case in Anchorage.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that there were two triage tents: one at the front entrance, and one at the emergency department entrance. There is only one triage tent, at the entrance to the emergency department.
Gold Medal in 2016 at the Juneau-Douglas High School gymnasium. (Photo by Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
The Gold Medal Basketball Tournament was canceled on Friday, Mar. 13, due to ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 virus.
Every year, hundreds of people flock to Juneau from neighboring villages and communities to attend. This would have been the 74th year players gathered from across Southeast Alaska to compete, and it’s the first time this event has been canceled.
Edward Hotch, the President of the Lions Club, says the games are an especially popular sport for elders, who travel annually to cheer for their favorite teams.
