The state’s top medical team says that communities which still have a relatively low case count should act conservatively when it comes to travel during the holiday season.
Dr. Anne Zink, the state’s chief medical officer, and Dr. Liz Ohlsen, a physician with the state Division of Public Health, recently weighed in on a policy recommendation coming before the Sitka School Board this week (11-4-20) that would impose tighter travel and quarantine requirements on district staff and students than those in place for the general public.
Update November 5, 2020: The Sitka School Board adopted this policy at its regular meeting on November 4, 2020.
The state eased the mandate for travelers coming into Alaska, effective October 16, and now requires only a single negative coronavirus test on arrival and five days of quarantine, rather than a negative test on arrival, and another negative seven days later. And Alaska residents — as before — can forego a test and just quarantine for two weeks.
During a meeting with state media on October 29, Alaska chief medical officer Dr. Anne Zink said that no single tool could slow the spread of coronavirus; rather, it was going to take several. And travel restrictions had proven useful.
Zink – So we’ve seen many communities be able to slow the spread of covid into their community by travel, and by restricting travel. That may be a test prior to entering; that may be a test required by a quarantine and a test later. Each of these things has risk/benefit. We’ve also seen people who rely on just one thing — say, just relying on a test prior to coming in — someone comes in, mixes a lot, and all of a sudden you’ve got a bunch of cases all at once. So we need to create as many speed bumps as possible in covid, and travel — particularly for a community that does not have a lot of covid right now — can be a successful tool in combination with other things. So it’s going to be much more useful in a community like Sitka that doesn’t have a lot of cases right now, but that can be built upon afterwards.
The reality is that people travel around the holidays. Sitka school superintendent John Holst is recommending that the board adopt the stricter testing and quarantine standards used by the state prior to October 16, although he knows it will be inconvenient for students and staff. Division of public health physician Dr. Liz Ohlsen says that travel and gatherings are increasingly high risk activities, and that Sitkans should be conscientious about their potential exposure while they’re on the road.
Ohlsen – When people are making decisions to travel, particularly if they’re making decisions to travel from somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of cases to somewhere that does, and then coming back. What you do when you’re traveling, in terms of where you’re staying and who you’re gathering with when you’re there — all of these have really big impacts on the risk that you bring home to your family, that you bring something home to your community.
All Alaskans returning from interstate travel are eligible for a free covid test on arrival at the airport. Superintendent Holst says that, should the school board adopt a policy reverting to the state’s tighter standards, staff and students returning from holiday travel will be given a coupon to return to the airport for a second free test seven days later.
