Unloading freight in Angoon in February. The city council has moved to bar most non-residents from entering the town. (Ari Snider/KCAW)
As local governments across the state impose restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19, Angoon will join a number of small communities in barring all non-residents from entering the town.
The Angoon City Council passed the resolution at a meeting on Thursday, 3-26-20.
It defines a “resident” in two ways: Anyone who currently lives in the town and has lived there for at least 10 of the last 12 months, and anyone who voted in the 2019 municipal elections and is still registered to vote in Angoon.
The ban does carve out a few exceptions for medical personnel, telecommunications workers, Alaska State Troopers, and other workers deemed “essential”. It also allows residents to continue to travel for medical emergencies and grocery shopping.
The resolution does not specify how it will be enforced.
The North Slope Borough has adopted a similar measure, prohibiting entry to the borough’s eight villages until April 15th. That ban still allows cargo to get in.
The Angoon travel restriction begins on April 1st and will remain in effect until further notice.
