Some members of Ketchikan’s Borough Assembly say they want to expand COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements for in-state travel.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy recently announced that all out-of-state travelers would soon be required to test negative for COVID-19 before traveling into the state.
If passed, a resolution up for debate would request that Dunleavy expand that requirement to include in-state travelers. The resolution also asks state authorities to impose a 14-day quarantine requirement on all travel into the state and between Alaska communities.
Assembly members Felix Wong and Austin Otos are listed as sponsors for the resolution. The two say the proposal is an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Communities off the road and ferry systems are allowed to craft their own local travel restrictions under the state’s health mandates, but that’s not an option for Southeast Alaska communities served by state ferries — including Ketchikan.
In other business, the assembly will consider submitting a grant application to the Rasmuson Foundation. The foundation would match municipal CARES Act funding to local arts and culture organizations. That could mean up to $50,000 in additional private funding for organizations like the Ketchikan Arts and Humanities Council and First City Players.
The Borough Assembly meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Assembly Chambers at the White Cliff Building on First Avenue. The agenda can be found online, and the meeting will be broadcast on local cable channels and at the borough’s website. Public comment will be heard at the beginning of the meeting.
KRBD’s Eric Stone contributed to this report.
