October 14, 2020

Four schools in the Eastern Kenai Peninsula will continue to operate in 100% Remote Learning, during High COVID-19 Risk (Red) status

Today the school district leadership and KPBSD Medical Advisory Team met to discuss continued high positive COVID-19 case counts, the 7-Day trends, information from public health and DHSS stating Alaska is experiencing accelerated spread today, and determined an extension of 100% Remote Learning is merited.

Moose Pass, Seward Elementary, Middle, and High School will continue with 100% Remote Learning for one more week, through Friday, October 23, 2020. An evaluation of risk status will be made next week, and an announcement about a return to onsite-at-school learning on October 26, 2020, will be made October 22, 2020, to aid in planning purposes for families and staff.

“The decision to continue to operate KPBSD schools in High COVID-19 risk, with 100% Remote Learning, is not only to address concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, but as a school district we play an important role to help our communities mitigate positive COVID-19 spread. By shifting to 100% Remote Learning during periods of high community spread, we lessen the number of large groups of people in one location. Even with our mitigation plans, we have seen an exponential growth of positive cases in our schools this past week. My hope is that we can slow the spread, and reopen schools as soon as Monday, October 26, 2020. We will all know more in the next week as the state catches up with a backlog of positive test results. I sincerely apologize for the strain and mental health concerns that this action puts on families, students, staff, and businesses in an already stressful pandemic.”

Superintendent John O’Brien

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will contact their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily between 12:00–12:30. Make sure to order by noon on Friday for the following week. Note: No meals are available on Friday, October 16, 2020—it’s an inservice day for staff, no school for students
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools contacted these families directly

Central Kenai Peninsula Schools Update:
100% Remote Learning extended for 17 KPBSD schools in the central peninsula due to continued rising positive cases of COVID-19

Today school district leadership and the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team determined that with the continued high positive COVID-19 case counts, the 7-Day trends, contact tracing information from public health and DHSS, an extension of 100% Remote Learning is merited.

The 100% Remote Learning in the central peninsula is extended an additional week, through Wednesday, October 28, 2020. A further determination of a possible additional extension will be made at that time.

NOTE: Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, 2020, are parent-teacher conferences, with no school for students or Get-It-And-Go Meals. Schools will be directly communicating their plan for conferences to families.

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will continue to be in contact with their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily at school between 12:00–1:00. Note: No meals are available on October 29-30, 2020, during parent teacher conference days
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools are in contact with these families directly
• ASAA Protocols are in effect during High Risk operations

Central Peninsula Schools operating in High Risk (Red) Status

Central Kenai Peninsula includes Kasilof to Sterling, extending through Kenai, Nikiski, Soldotna, and DHSS “other north” communities. Cooper Landing is not included in the 17 Central Peninsula schools:

• Aurora Borealis Charter School
• Kaleidoscope Charter School
• K-Beach Elementary School
• Kenai Alternative School
• Kenai Central High School
• Kenai Middle School
• Mountain View Elementary School
• Nikiski Middle-High School
• Nikiski North Star Elementary School
• Redoubt Elementary School
• River City Academy
• Skyview Middle School
• Soldotna Elementary School
• Soldotna High School
• Soldotna Montessori Charter School
• Sterling Elementary School
• Other North: Tustumena Elementary School

Southern Kenai Peninsula Schools Update:
100% Remote Learning extended for 13 KPBSD schools in the southern peninsula due to continued rising positive cases of COVID-19

Today school district leadership and the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team determined that with the continued high positive COVID-19 case counts, the 7-Day trends, contact tracing information from public health and DHSS, an extension of 100% Remote Learning is merited.

The 100% Remote Learning in the southern peninsula (Homer area) is extended an additional week, through Wednesday, October 28, 2020. A further determination of a possible additional extension will be made at that time.

NOTE: Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, 2020, are parent-teacher conferences, with no school for students or Get-It-And-Go Meals. Schools will be directly communicating their plan for conferences to families.

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will continue to be in contact with their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily at school between 12:00–1:00. Note: No meals are available on October 29-30, 2020, during parent teacher conference days
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools are in contact with these families directly
• ASAA Protocols are in effect during High Risk operations

Thirteen Southern Kenai Peninsula Schools operating in High Risk (Red) Status
KPBSD schools in Nanwalek, Port Graham, and Susan B. English in Seldovia are considered individually, and remain open to onsite at-school learning at this time.

• Chapman School
• Fireweed Academy
• Homer Flex School
• Homer High School
• Homer Middle School
• Kachemak Selo School
• McNeil Canyon Elementary School
• Nikolaevsk School
• Ninilchik School
• Paul Banks Elementary School
• Razdolna School
• Voznesenka School
• West Homer Elementary School

Beginning Tuesday, October 20, 2020, KPBSD schools in the Southern Kenai Peninsula will shift to 100% Remote Learning, and operate in High COVID-19 Risk (Red)

The school district leadership and KPBSD Medical Advisory Team reviewed the high positive case count COVID-19 cases in the Southern Kenai Peninsula today, the rising 7-Day trend, information from public health and DHSS, and determined the data merits immediate action for an additional 13 KPBSD schools. Therefore, Southern Kenai Peninsula schools will shift to 100% Remote Learning immediately, beginning Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

The 100% Remote Learning in the Southern Kenai Peninsula will be for a minimum of this week. We know that Alaska is experiencing an accelerated phase of COVID-19 spread. Several positive cases are reported each week that are connected with KPBSD schools, and contact tracing takes place for every positive staff or student COVID-19 case, to help further exposure from occurring.

*Decision Basis about operations in risk levels

To determine if schools should operate in 100% Remote Learning, or offer options for 100% Remote Learning and onsite at-school learning, district leadership and the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team:

• Analyze the 14-Day positive COVID-19 case counts
• Analyze the 7-Day positivity trend
• Consult with public health contact tracing knowledge, and local medical providers
• Review the KPBSD COVID-19 Positive Case in a School Decision Matrix

Based on this analysis and scientific data, the medical advisory team watches positive cases closely, types of community spread, and offers informed insights about safely operating schools during a pandemic.

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will contact their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily at school between 12:00–1:00
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools will contact these families directly

Thirteen Southern Kenai Peninsula Schools operating in High Risk (Red) Status
KPBSD schools in Nanwalek, Port Graham, and Susan B. English in Seldovia are considered individually, and remain open to onsite at-school learning at this time.

• Chapman School
• Fireweed Academy
• Homer Flex School
• Homer High School
• Homer Middle School
• Kachemak Selo School
• McNeil Canyon Elementary School
• Nikolaevsk School
• Ninilchik School
• Paul Banks Elementary School
• Razdolna School
• Voznesenka School
• West Homer Elementary School

“The decision to operate Southern Kenai Peninsula schools in High COVID-19 risk, with 100% Remote Learning, is not only to address concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, but as a school district we play an important role to help our communities mitigate positive COVID-19 spread. By shifting to 100% Remote Learning during periods of high community spread, we lessen the number of large groups of people in one location. Even with our mitigation plans, we have seen an exponential growth of positive cases in our schools this past week. My hope is that we can slow the spread, and reopen schools as soon as is safely possible. I sincerely apologize for the strain this puts on families, students, staff, and businesses in an already stressful pandemic.”

-Superintendent John O’Brien

What you can do

We urge Alaskans to exercise caution and take the following steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Do the 3 W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance and wash your hands

• Avoid the 3 C’s: Crowded places, close contact settings and confined or enclosed spaces. Keep contacts limited and social circles small. Avoid indoor gatherings

• Don’t ride in cars with people who are not in your household bubble

• Limit your errands and outings

• Watch out for COVID-19 symptoms. Get tested even if you have just one symptom or mild symptoms

• Don’t be around others if you are not feeling well. Stay home and isolate immediately

• If you test positive, let close contacts know so they can protect others

• Quarantine quickly if you are exposed to COVID-19, for a full 14 days

Helpful Links

KPBSD COVID-19 Hub or covid19.kpbsd.org

KPBSD COVID-19 risk level dashboard

This Bahamian Rotarian has been a whirlwind of energy since he began volunteering in high school.

by Anne Stein                   Photo by Lyndah Wells Photography

Growing up in Nassau, Bahamas, Roosevelt Rolle Jr. remembers how his parents extended a hand to neighbors who needed food or to friends who were without a place to stay. In high school, Rolle joined Interact, and after college, the Rotaract Club of Freeport. “My love for Rotary grew another notch,” he says, “because we had so much fun and we did a lot of volunteer work in the community.”

After three years in Rotaract, Rolle took a year and a half off from Rotary. “I wanted to be a little more professional and make sure I was mature enough,” he recalls. Christine van der Linde, his boss and a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Lucaya, had a suggestion: She and several other Rotarians were forming a new club and thought Rolle would be a great fit. “It was a match made in heaven,” he says. On 24 June 2019, the Rotary Club of Grand Bahama chartered with 20 members, including Rolle, then age 29.

The club was barely two months old when, on 1 September 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas, causing billions of dollars in damage. “We had a bunch of new Rotarians and we were so excited to get involved in projects,” recounts Rolle. “Dorian became our project.”

Rolle and his fellow Rotarians gathered on Saturdays to sort and distribute food. The Rotary Club of Grand Bahama remained involved in the relief work until January.

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rolle and his club turned to projects such as providing meals for hospital workers. He’s taking the lessons he learned from his parents and making service central to his life.

• This story originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Rotary magazine.

*Dr. Ohlsen, our KPBSD state Physician Consultant for schools, explained today that this quarantine applies to our school district. Many coaches and students are still testing positive.  Any KPBSD staff or students, who participated in or attended this event, must quarantine, and not go to school or work. Students can shift to 100% Remote Learning. Staff or students who need to quarantine can reach out to their school or supervisor for further information. The last day of quarantine will be October 18, 2020, and they can return to school on Monday, October 19, 2020.  If anyone experiences any symptoms of COVID19, they should be tested.

KPBSD’s high school hockey season was slated to start Wednesday October 14, 2020 (first allowable practice date as per ASAA). As a result of this Youth Hockey event and resulting COVID-19 positive cluster, I am postponing the start of the KPBSD high school hockey season to Monday October 19, 2020.

–KPBSD Superintendent John O’Brien, October 9, 2020

Anchorage Health Department News Release: October 9, 2020

AHD urges attendees of youth hockey tournament to
quarantine or isolate following cluster of COVID-19 cases

ANCHORAGE – The Anchorage Health Department (AHD) is investigating a youth hockey tournament after a cluster of COVID-19 cases were identified. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services is assisting with the contact tracing investigation.

Contact investigations indicate that the 2020 Termination Dust Invitational, held Oct. 2-4 at the Ben Boeke and Dempsey Anderson arenas, was attended by more than 300 players, coaches and fans. Teams from Anchorage, Eagle River/Chugiak, Wasilla/Palmer, Kenai/Soldotna and Juneau participated in the tournament. Contact investigations indicate significant close contact in indoor spaces, including locker rooms, with inconsistent use of face coverings.
To avoid further spread of COVID-19, AHD urges all attendees without symptoms to quarantine at home for 14 days, except to get tested. Additionally, AHD urges all attendees with COVID-19 symptoms should isolate from others at home for 10 days, except to get tested.

Most children have asymptomatic, mild or moderate symptoms and recover within one to two weeks of symptom onset. As with adults, children with medical conditions, for example, heart or lung disease, neurologic, genetic, or metabolic disorders, cancer, kidney disease, obesity, immune disorders, are at higher risk for severe disease.

“Participating in physical activity is incredibly important for everyone, especially our youth. This year we have the added challenge of ensuring those activities are done consistently in a COVID-conscious way that keeps our youth, their families, and our community healthy,” said AHD Director Heather Harris. “It is extremely important for anyone who might have been exposed at this tournament to follow COVID-19 isolation and quarantine guidelines.”

We must stop COVID-19 with simple steps and smart choices.

• Stay home except for essential trips.
• Feeling even mild symptoms? Get tested. Stay home.
  • Use AnchorageCOVIDTest.org to find free testing.
• Wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet from others outside your house.
• Avoid social gatherings, especially indoors. Gatherings are not safe.
• Keep a log of your contact with others.
• Stay informed by listening to public health experts.
• Get a flu shot. Use AnchorageFluShot.org to find free flu shot clinics.
• Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to remain vigilant. Do not underestimate COVID-19.

What you do matters. Stop the spread of COVID-19. Together, we can save lives.

###

Media Inquiries:

AHD Director Heather Harris, Epidemiologist Dr. Janet Johnston and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Chandler will be available to answer questions at the Mayor’s Community Update today, October 9, at noon.

Barry Piser, Public Information Officer, (907) 343-4622, barry.piser@anchorageak.gov

McNeil Canyon Elementary School will shift to 100% Remote Learning on Monday, October 12, 2020 for contact tracing after a positive COVID-19 case

October 11, 2020

Dear McNeil Canyon School Staff and Families,

Sunday morning, October 11, 2020, the school district learned that a positive COVID-19 case is connected to someone at McNeil Canyon Elementary School. Contact tracing is beginning, but without ample time to complete it immediately, and the potential that it affects the entire K-3^rd grade classes, with positive cases trending upward, and out of an abundance of precaution, school will immediately change to 100% Remote Learning on Monday, October 12, 2020, and possibly longer. Additional communications will be sent later today, and as contact tracing happens, everyone who is a close contact will be called personally.

Kindly trust that we are working as quickly as possible, and working with public health to assess any interactions in the time period the person was at school and potential exposure to others.

Everyone who is identified as a close contact will be called personally today, and need to Quarantine for 14 days. The quarantine would likely go through October 22, 2020, and students or staff could return to school October 23, 2020. At this time, we request that everyone connected with K-3 grades limit interactions with others today, until contact tracing is complete.

Principal Pete Swanson is away right now, and making arrangements to return asap. Paul Banks Principal Eric Pederson is assisting your school through this until his return, together with Nurse Iris, district leadership, and your school team. Your school and KPBSD will share further information as it becomes known—but we may not know until Monday if the 100% Remote Learning will continue into Tuesday.

KPBSD honors HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws, so the identity of a student or employee will not be revealed by the school or KPBSD, unless permission is given to do so.

Each case of COVID-19 is interviewed by public health, and our team. As part of this public health investigation and contact tracing at school, and based on CDC guidance and Alaska DHSS protocols:

• Everyone diagnosed with COVID-19 is kept home from school until they are no longer infectious
• The person’s activities when they could have spread COVID-19 were assessed
• The people who were close contacts of the person with COVID-19 are instructed to stay home from school for 14 days after the exposure. This is called quarantine and there is no way to test out of a 14-day quarantine when someone is identified as a close contact

What to know during 100% Remote Learning Monday, October 12, 2020, and possibly beyond

• Teachers will reach out to students and parents on Monday with more information with how we are moving forward
   
• Free Get-It-And-Go meals will be available Monday for all students during 100% Remote Learning. Daily pickup at your school between 12:00-12:30
   
• No students or staff will be at school on Monday, October 12, 2020
   
• You can expect regular contact as soon as there are updates. Check your School Messenger alerts, and the McNeil Canyon Facebook page.

If you have questions, kindly contact your school, Principal Pederson at 907-435-7379 until Principal Swanson returns, or call our public health agency at 907-335-3400.

You can find specific information for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on our dedicated COVID-19 in KPBSD Hub webpage that includes communication updates, safety protocols, 2020 Smart Start Plan, sports and activities, risk levels on the Kenai Peninsula, and the COVID19 Confirmed Case in School Response Matrix.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as contact tracing takes place, and our lives are further disrupted. Together the Dragons will get through this.

October 14, 2020

Four schools in the Eastern Kenai Peninsula will continue to operate in 100% Remote Learning, during High COVID-19 Risk (Red) status

Today the school district leadership and KPBSD Medical Advisory Team met to discuss continued high positive COVID-19 case counts, the 7-Day trends, information from public health and DHSS stating Alaska is experiencing accelerated spread today, and determined an extension of 100% Remote Learning is merited.

Moose Pass, Seward Elementary, Middle, and High School will continue with 100% Remote Learning for one more week, through Friday, October 23, 2020. An evaluation of risk status will be made next week, and an announcement about a return to onsite-at-school learning on October 26, 2020, will be made October 22, 2020, to aid in planning purposes for families and staff.

“The decision to continue to operate KPBSD schools in High COVID-19 risk, with 100% Remote Learning, is not only to address concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, but as a school district we play an important role to help our communities mitigate positive COVID-19 spread. By shifting to 100% Remote Learning during periods of high community spread, we lessen the number of large groups of people in one location. Even with our mitigation plans, we have seen an exponential growth of positive cases in our schools this past week. My hope is that we can slow the spread, and reopen schools as soon as Monday, October 26, 2020. We will all know more in the next week as the state catches up with a backlog of positive test results. I sincerely apologize for the strain and mental health concerns that this action puts on families, students, staff, and businesses in an already stressful pandemic.”

Superintendent John O’Brien

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will contact their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily between 12:00–12:30. Make sure to order by noon on Friday for the following week. Note: No meals are available on Friday, October 16, 2020—it’s an inservice day for staff, no school for students
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools contacted these families directly
• ASAA Protocols are in effect during High Risk school operations

What you can do

We urge Alaskans to exercise caution and take the following steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Do the 3 W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance and wash your hands

• Avoid the 3 C’s: Crowded places, close contact settings and confined or enclosed spaces. Keep contacts limited and social circles small. Avoid indoor gatherings

• Don’t ride in cars with people who are not in your household bubble

• Limit your errands and outings

• Watch out for COVID-19 symptoms. Get tested even if you have just one symptom or mild symptoms

• Don’t be around others if you are not feeling well. Stay home and isolate immediately

• If you test positive, let close contacts know so they can protect others

• Quarantine quickly if you are exposed to COVID-19, for a full 14 days

*Decision Basis about operations in risk levels

To determine if schools should operate in 100% Remote Learning, or offer options for 100% Remote Learning and onsite at-school learning, district leadership and the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team:

• Analyze the 14-Day positive COVID-19 case counts
• Analyze the 7-Day positivity trend
• Consult with public health contact tracing knowledge, and local medical providers
• Review the KPBSD COVID-19 Positive Case in a School Decision Matrix

Based on this analysis and scientific data, the medical advisory team watches positive cases closely, types of community spread, and offers informed insights about safely operating schools during a pandemic.

Helpful Links

KPBSD COVID-19 Hub or covid19.kpbsd.org

KPBSD COVID-19 risk level dashboard

Beginning Wednesday, October 14, 2020,
17 KPBSD schools in the central peninsula will shift to 100% Remote Learning, and operate in High COVID-19 Risk (Red)

The school district leadership and KPBSD Medical Advisory Team discussed the high positive case count today of +14 COVID-19 cases in the central peninsula, the 7-Day trend, information from public health and DHSS, and determined the data merits immediate action for schools. Therefore, central peninsula schools will shift to 100% Remote Learning immediately, beginning Wednesday, October 14, 2020.

The 100% Remote Learning in the central peninsula will be for a minimum of one week. Today, DHSS stated that Alaska is experiencing an accelerated phase of COVID-19 spread.
Positive cases are reported daily in KPBSD schools and in the past few days in the central peninsula alone, between Nikiski Middle-High School, Nikiski North Star Elementary, Redoubt Elementary, and Skyview Middle School, contact tracing has placed over 63 staff and students in isolation or a 14-Day Quarantine.

“The decision to operate central peninsula schools in High COVID-19 risk, with 100% Remote Learning, is not only to address concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and students, but as a school district we play an important role to help our communities mitigate positive COVID-19 spread. By shifting to 100% Remote Learning during periods of high community spread, we lessen the number of large groups of people in one location. Even with our mitigation plans, we have seen an exponential growth of positive cases in our schools this past week. My hope is that we can slow the spread, and reopen schools as soon as Monday, October 26, 2020. We will all know more in the next week as the state catches up with a backlog of positive test results. I sincerely apologize for the strain this puts on families, students, staff, and businesses in an already stressful pandemic.”

Superintendent John O’Brien

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Schools will contact their families to give further instructions, call your school if you have questions about materials, packets, or other issues
• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students during 100% Remote Learning, and can be picked up daily at school between 12:00–1:00. Note: No meals are available on Friday, October 16, 2020—it’s an inservice day for staff, no school for students
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools will contact these families directly
• ASAA Protocols are in effect during High Risk operations. Only state level competitions are approved at this time

Central Peninsula Schools operating in High Risk (Red) Status

Central Kenai Peninsula includes Kasilof to Sterling, extending through Kenai, Nikiski, Soldotna, and DHSS “other north” communities. Cooper Landing is not included in the 17 Central Peninsula schools:

• Aurora Borealis Charter School
• Kaleidoscope Charter School
• K-Beach Elementary School
• Kenai Alternative School
• Kenai Central High School
• Kenai Middle School
• Mountain View Elementary School
• Nikiski Middle-High School
• Nikiski North Star Elementary School
• Redoubt Elementary School
• River City Academy
• Skyview Middle School
• Soldotna Elementary School
• Soldotna High School
• Soldotna Montessori Charter School
• Sterling Elementary School
• Other North: Tustumena Elementary School

What you can do

We urge Alaskans to exercise caution and take the following steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Do the 3 W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance and wash your hands

• Avoid the 3 C’s: Crowded places, close contact settings and confined or enclosed spaces. Keep contacts limited and social circles small. Avoid indoor gatherings

• Don’t ride in cars with people who are not in your household bubble

• Limit your errands and outings

• Watch out for COVID-19 symptoms. Get tested even if you have just one symptom or mild symptoms

• Don’t be around others if you are not feeling well. Stay home and isolate immediately

• If you test positive, let close contacts know so they can protect others

• Quarantine quickly if you are exposed to COVID-19, for a full 14 days

*Decision Basis about operations in risk levels
To determine if schools should operate in 100% Remote Learning, or offer options for 100% Remote Learning and onsite at-school learning, district leadership and the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team:

• Analyze the 14-Day positive COVID-19 case counts
• Analyze the 7-Day positivity trend
• Consult with public health contact tracing knowledge, and local medical providers
• Review the KPBSD COVID-19 Positive Case in a School Decision Matrix

Based on this analysis and scientific data, the medical advisory team watches positive cases closely, types of community spread, and offers informed insights about safely operating schools during a pandemic.

Helpful Links

KPBSD COVID-19 Hub or covid19.kpbsd.org

KPBSD COVID-19 risk level dashboard

October 7, 2020

Dear KPBSD Eastern Peninsula Families and Staff:

We know you are concerned and watching the COVID-19 risk levels closely. The school district and KPBSD Medical Advisory Team joins your concern and on Wednesday carefully analyzed a spectrum of information and data.*

Advance Notice: if positive COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the eastern peninsula over the next few days, there is a high likelihood we will shift to 100% Remote Learning on Monday, October 12, 2020, for a minimum of one week. A decision will be made no later than Sunday.

At this time, Eastern Peninsula schools (Seward and Moose Pass) will continue to operate in Medium Risk (yellow) status this week, even though the 14-Day positive case count indicates high-risk levels. This means that schools will remain open to onsite at-school learning. The medical advisory team is watching this closely, and if positive cases are linked to a school, or trend upward Thursday or Friday, an updated decision for next week to operate schools at High Risk and 100% Remote Learning could happen, and will be communicated to staff and families immediately.

*Decision Basis
To determine if it is appropriate to shift schools to 100% Remote Learning when the 14-Day count data moved the Eastern Peninsula into high risk on October 7, 2020, the KPBSD Medical Advisory Team:

• Analyzed the 14-Day positive COVID-19 case counts
  • Note: four positive cases will drop from the 14-Day case count in the next four days, which moves Eastern Peninsula into Medium Risk, if no additional positive cases are added
• Analyzed the 7-Day positivity trend
• Consulted with public health contact tracing knowledge, and local medical providers
• Reviewed our COVID-19 Positive Case in a School Decision Matrix (no recent cases have been linked to eastern peninsula schools.)

Based on this analysis, information, and that no cases that involve KPBSD schools, Seward and Moose Pass schools will be remain in yellow or medium risk October 8-9, 2020. The medical advisory team is watching this closely, and if positive cases trend sharply upward, or are linked to a school, an updated decision to move to High Risk and 100% Remote Learning could happen immediately, or beginning Monday, October 12, 2020.

What to know during 100% Remote Learning in COVID-19 High Risk

• Get-It and Go Meals are free for all students, and picked up Wednesday morning for the week
• Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Special Education Intensive Needs students may still attend school onsite-at-school during 100% Remote Learning, based on the 2020 SmartStart Plan. Schools will contact these families directly.
• Activities continue with ASAA High Risk Protocols in effect
• Schools will communicate an update status mid-week to aid parent planning for the following week specific to if school reopens to onsite at school learning on Monday, October 19, 2020

What you can do

We urge Alaskans to exercise caution and take the following steps to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• • Do the 3 W’s: Wear a mask, watch your distance and wash your hands
• • Avoid the 3 C’s: Crowded places, close contact settings and confined or enclosed spaces. Keep contacts limited and social circles small. Avoid indoor gatherings
• • Don’t ride in cars with people who are not in your household bubble
• • Limit your errands and outings
• • Watch out for COVID-19 symptoms. Get tested even if you have just one symptom or mild symptoms
• • Don’t be around others if you are not feeling well. Stay home and isolate immediately
• • If you test positive, let close contacts know so they can protect others
• • Quarantine quickly if you are exposed to COVID-19, for a full 14 days

Helpful Links

• KPBSD COVID-19 Hub or covid19.kpbsd.org
• KPBSD COVID-19 risk level dashboard

“Offering predictability for our families, staff, and communities is tricky during a global pandemic. I am disappointed the positive case count appears to be trending upward. Every day we evaluate 7-Day risk level trends, 14-Day actual positive case counts, and confer with our medical advisory team. To aid planning for families and eliminate a ping-pong effect back and forth between risk levels, when we shift to 100% Remote Learning, it will be in one-week time blocks unless it’s a positive case at a school, which might have a different response or time frame. We will continue providing district level updates every week, plus each school will directly communicate with their staff and families.”

-Superintendent John O’Brien

Seward Elementary Shifts to 100% Remote Learning on 9/28/20 and 9/29/20

September 25, 2020

Communication to Seward Elementary staff and families. Principal Haskins will send a message via School Messenger on Saturday, September 26, 2020.

Dear Seward Elementary students, parents, and staff,

Friday evening September 25, 2020, we learned a second student or staff member at Seward Elementary School has been diagnosed with COVID-19, and as members of the school community, we understand that this raises care and concerns.

To complete contact tracing and allow for additional cleaning, the entire school will shift to 100% Remote Learning September 28 and 29, 2020.

Throughout the weekend we will work with public health to assess any interactions in the time period the person was connected with school, and everyone who is determined to be a close contact will be called personally.

9/25/20, 10:30 PM: The shift to 100% Remote Learning is only for Seward Elementary at this time.

Two or more positive cases in a school is defined as an outbreak. Each case of COVID-19 is interviewed by public health, and our team.

We will be in communication with you with further information as it becomes available, and announce late Monday, or Tuesday morning, if we will reopen on Wednesday, or extend the 100% Remote Learning.

As part of this public health investigation and contact tracing at school, and based on CDC guidance and Alaska DHSS protocols:

• Everyone diagnosed with COVID-19 is kept home from school until they are no longer infectious.
• The person’s activities when they could have spread COVID-19 will be assessed.
• The people who were close contacts of the person with COVID-19 are instructed to stay home from school for 14 days after the exposure. This is called quarantine and there is no way to test out of a 14-day quarantine when someone is identified as a close contact.

KPBSD honors HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws, so the identity of a student or employee will not be revealed by the school or KPBSD, unless permission is given to do so.

If you have questions, kindly contact Principal Alan Haskins, or our public health agency at 907-335-3400.

You can find specific information for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on our dedicated COVID-19 in KPBSD Hub webpage that includes communication updates, safety protocols, 2020 Smart Start Plan, sports and activities, risk levels on the Kenai Peninsula, and the COVID19 Confirmed Case in School Response Matrix.

Seward High School sporting events are cancelled on Saturday, September 26, 2020.

“Friday evening we learned that Seward Elementary has had more than one confirmed case of COVID-19 within a three day time frame. This is defined as an outbreak in a school, causes a shift to 100% remote learning at Seward Elementary for at least Monday and Tuesday next week, in an effort to ensure thorough contact tracing and cleaning of the school will be conducted. Given the small size of the Seward community and out of an abundance of precaution, this weekend’s sporting events in Seward have been cancelled and Seward teams that were scheduled to travel and compete in away events have been kept home. I know our athletes will be disappointed, and I ask for everyone’s support and understanding.”

–Superintendent John O’Brien

Case trends and predictions

• Overall, new cases in Alaska are increasing. The daily state case rate as of September 19 is 10.2 cases per 100,000 people averaged over the last 14 days, so the state alert level is now high. This is up from 8.7 last week and 7.9 the week before.
• The reproductive number, a measure of contagion, is currently estimated to be approximately 1. A reproductive number of 1 means that each person who is diagnosed with COVID-19 gives it on average to one other person. A reproductive number of more than 1 means that the epidemic is growing, and the goal is to have enough people wear masks, stay at least 6 feet from others, and stay home and get tested when they are sick that Alaska’s reproductive number decreases to well below 1. Our reproductive number was below 1 as recently as late August. 
• An updated model epidemic curve predicts Alaska’s cases will continue to rise over the next week. Until two weeks ago, cases had been predicted to decrease. One week ago, cases were now expected to double every 62 days, with a daily projected growth rate of 1.12%. This projection has improved slightly, with cases now expected to double around every 190 days, with a daily projected growth rate of 0.37%.  
• Nonresident cases, which peaked in late July, decreased over August and continue to downtrend. 

• Data for COVID-19 in Alaska healthcare workers are now available, although limited as not all cases have an occupation reported. About half of the 260 cases reported in healthcare workers may have been acquired at work; others were related to travel, household or community exposure. 8 hospitalizations among healthcare workers are reported and no deaths.  

• Alaska continues to have both the fewest COVID-19 related deaths and the fewest COVID-19 related deaths per capita of any US state.

Regional trends

• Juneau City and Borough now has the highest rate of viral transmission, having increased its rate to 16.3, continuing the rise from 13.4 last week and 6.3 the week before.
• Fairbanks North Star Borough has the second highest rate of viral transmission with a case rate of 15.9, a slight decrease from 17.1 the week before. 
• The Northwest Region had the steepest increase this week among communities with high transmission, with a rate now at 15.6 from 10.7 the previous week. 
• Anchorage Municipality remains in the high transmission category and has again improved slightly from last week. 
• The Y-K Delta region increased from 6.0 to 8.4, remaining within the intermediate zone.
• The Interior Region, Mat-Su and Northern Southeast Region also saw increases this week. 
• Other regions’ case rates downtrended this week.

Regional case trends

 New cases, hospitalizations and deaths

• This week saw 558 new cases in Alaskans, an increase from last week’s 513 new cases, for a total of 6,836 cumulative cases in Alaskans. 4,610 of those are considered active, or 67%, an increase from 65% last week, as 2,226 Alaskans are thought to have recovered or completed their isolation period. Data on recovery lags data on new cases and may not be up to date. 
• Cumulative hospitalizations increased to 262 with 16 new this week, slightly more than the increase of 14 last week.
• Deaths among Alaska residents increased by 1 to 45 total. 
• There were 16 nonresident cases identified this week, for a total of 931.  

How COVID-19 spreads in Alaska

• The majority of new infections among Alaskans are from community spread, not from travel. Most Alaskans get the virus from someone they work, socialize, or go to school with.
• Many cases do not have a clear source, meaning that contact tracers have not been able to identify where the person got the virus. This could mean that there are cases in our communities that we do not know about. 
• Many Alaskans who are diagnosed with COVID-19 report that they went to social gatherings, community events, church services and other social venues while they were contagious but before they knew they had the virus.
• The distribution of cases among people of different races and ethnicities has not changed significantly since last week.
• Cases continue to increase most rapidly in young adult Alaskans, especially those aged 20-29. 

Behind every one of these statistics is an individual. We're saddened by every death and our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of these individuals who died. 

DHSS is aware that the topic of how COVID-19 deaths are counted generates a great deal of interest. This webpage should answer some of your questions.

Current process

By health care facilities

The first is from reporting by health care facilities. Because COVID-19 is a reportable infectious condition, hospitals report cases of COVID-19 directly to the Division of Public Health’s Section of Epidemiology. Later, if those hospitalized patients pass away, those deaths are also reported. 

The benefit of this method is real time reporting. The state has the ability to report the death within days of the death occurring. However, this method may not capture deaths because of the time lag associated with COVID patients who may remain hospitalized for a longer period of time, have a more complex disease and death process, or died outside of Alaska. Further, this more real-time method means that deaths have not yet undergone review by CDC.

Through death certificates

The second process is through death certificates and their review by CDC. Every death in the state, and of out of state Alaska residents, results in the production of a death record. A death record contains the who, what, when, and where of a death. The cause of death section of a death record provides the ‘why’. A death record is registered by the Division of Public Health’s section of Health Analytics and Vital Records (HAVRS). The cause of death language is de-identified and forwarded to CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). There the cause of death language is coded by nosologists (professional trained to classify disease) using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) medical classification. Once coded, the data are sent back to HAVRS. These data essentially serve as the final cause of death description.

The benefit of reporting deaths that moved though the NCHS process is these data represent the most accurate death counts. The cause of death statements have undergone review and have been coded - coded as U07.1. However, a death certificate takes an average of 9 days from the death to be registered by the state. This is before the NCHS review. The disadvantage is a delay of one to three weeks for data review and return to the state. The data lag means NCHS provisional death counts may not reflect all deaths reported by the State during a given time period, especially for more recent periods.

Data corrections

Finally, data corrections may change death counts. On occasion a death record needs a correction that may change the death counts. An example might be the original death record had an incorrect state of residence. Generally, upon discovery, corrections are handled by a state’s vital records office and the updated data are provided to NCHS if necessary.

The Death Certificate process

The federal government has worked with states to collect and standardize death reporting since the early 1900s. Cause of death and a decedent’s demographics are first recorded onto a death record. Death records are administered by the vital records program in the state where the death occurred. A death record is first filled out by a funeral director; the cause of death section is provided by a medical professional; and final registration is completed by a state’s vital records office.

CDC considers “Cause of Death” to be a best medical opinion. CDC wants the cause of death to come from medical professionals.

People can die from more than one cause. CDC reporting conventions allow a death certificates to capture the many conditions that contribute to a person’s death. The Cause of Death section on a death certificate has two parts:

• Part I is the chain of events –the diseases, injuries, or conditions that directly cause the death. There are four lines available, ‘a’ through ‘d’.

  • Line ‘a’ is reserved for the immediate cause of death. The immediate cause of death is the final disease or condition that resulted in death. 

  • Line ‘b’ (and ‘c’ if necessary) are reserved for intermediate causes of death. The medical professional outlines the logical sequence of causes, or etiology that leads from the underlying cause of death to the immediate cause of death. Sometimes, there is no intermediate cause of death.

  • The last line available is reserved for the underlying cause of death. This is the disease or injury that initiates the chain of events leading to the immediate cause of death.

• Part II is where a medical professional may enter any medical conditions that contributed or exacerbated, but did not cause, the death.

Note that for a death by a virus, if the symptomology and circumstances are compelling, and the medical professional is convinced a specific virus caused the death, NCHS will accept a cause of death certification without laboratory confirmation. Again, CDC is looking for a medical opinion. CDC does, however, encourage confirmation of viral deaths with testing.

After a death record has been certified, the cause of death section is forwarded to CDC’s NCHS. NCHS nosologists review the data, determines its accuracy, electronically and manually code the deaths using ICD-10 classification, and report back the final and coded cause of death to the states. Nosology is a branch of medicine that deals with classification of disease. To become competent takes many years of training. This process has in place since the 1980s for all causes of death.

Dying from a condition versus dying with a condition

In the semantics of health researchers, dying from something means a condition is the underlying or contributing cause.

Consider the case in the example above. The immediate cause of death is a rupture of the myocardium, preceded by an intermediate cause acute myocardial infarction, preceded by an intermediate cause of coronary artery thrombosis, preceded by an underlying cause of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. If a researcher were asked the cause of death for this individual, they would be correct to say either a rupture of the myocardium, a heart attack, a blocked artery, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries. If a researcher were performing a study on heart disease, this case would be counted. If a researcher were making an annual count of deaths from hardening and narrowing of the arteries in general, again this case would be included. On the other hand, if the researcher was developing a year-end report of leading causes of death, they would just report the underlying cause.

If a decedent had listed an immediate cause of death of stroke, that was a complication from an intermediate cause of blunt force trauma to the head, which had the underlying cause of a vehicle crash; a researcher would be correct in saying this individual died from a stroke, a head injury, or a car crash. Stroke and the head injury would be considered contributing causes associated with the underlying cause of a car crash.

On the other hand, if an individual died in a car crash also happen to test positive for COVID-19, COVID-19 would not be listed on the death certificate and the death would not be considered a COVID-19 death. This would be a case of dying with a disease. In this case, the death certificate would only list the sequence of conditions associated with the vehicle crash.

All reported Alaska resident COVID-19 deaths have the virus listed as a condition in Part I or Part II. A death where COVID-19 is listed in Part II might be considered as a contributing cause depending on how CDC nosologists interpret the cause of death provided by the medical professional. Most Alaskan deaths have listed COVID-19 somewhere in the lethal chain of conditions within Part I. However, if Alaska receives the coding of a COVID-19 death from CDC, even from Part II, we will report it.

Epidemiological significance of reporting COVID deaths

Whether COVID-19 shortened a life by 15 years or 15 minutes; whether COVID-19 is an underlying or contributing condition, the virus was in circulation, infected an Alaskan, and hastened their death. This must be reported.

Despite Alaska’s COVID-19 deaths, we should note that Alaska’s per capita death rate from COVID continues to be lower than almost every other state. Alaska’s overall mortality rate is also lower than most other states. According to JAMA, Alaska has had no estimated level of excess deaths during the COVID time period of March 1 2020 to May 30 2020.  This conclusion is echoed in Alaska’s own look at excess mortality. So far, researchers have not found any unexpected increase in death counts or rates relative to recent years.

Where can I find COVID Death Data?

You can find counts of COVID-19 deaths on the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub: data.coronavirus.alaska.gov.  On the COVID-19 Cases Dashboard, you can find the count of death that can be shown for Alaska residents (including AK residents diagnosed and isolated OOS), non-residents, or for both residents and non-residents diagnosed and isolated in Alaska.  The “Cumulative Deaths” graph on the COVID-19 Cases Dashboard reflects the date when a death was confirmed by the State, not when the death occurred.  “Table 1. Cases by Report Date” of the summary tables also shows a count of deaths; however, this table reflects deaths by the date when the case was confirmed COVID-19 positive, not by the date that the case was reported dead.

Parents and Guardians: Prepare for a positive COVID-19 case in a school

link: COVID-19 in KPBSD Web Hub

Dear KPBSD Parents and Guardians,

This letter will help your family prepare should our school district or your school have a COVID-19 event occur. An event could be a positive COVID-19 case, outbreak (two or more positive cases in a school) or exposure to COVID-19 in a school. The health and safety of our students, staff, and families is our top priority.

KPBSD works closely with local public health officials and they will provide support and direction to manage every COVID-19 related scenario that affects our school communities. If or when a COVID-19 event occurs related to your school, you will receive information via the usual school and district communication methods. Depending upon the situation and response needed by you, the contact may come via a phone call, email, alert, or general notification.

KPBSD honors HIPAA and FERPA privacy laws, so your name and your child’s name will not be revealed by the school, unless you give the school permission to do so. A dedicated webpage at KPBSD.org is where to find the most up to date information.

If your child receives a positive COVID-19 test result, and they have been at school two days prior to the onset of symptoms, or the testing date that resulted in a positive test result, it will be helpful to begin contact tracing at their school immediately. So, we need your help when you learn of a positive COVID-19 test result for your child. Call Nurse Iris, KPBSD Nursing Supervisor to confidentially report a positive COVID-19 test result. You can reach her at 907-260-2391, iwertz@kpbsd.k12.ak.us. Alternately, call your school nurse or administrator.

It is important for everyone in our community to protect themselves against the remarkably contagious novel coronavirus. These are some ways to protect your family:
 

• Symptom Free School Protocol: keep children who are sick at home—do not send them to school
   
• Teach your children to wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, and set a good example by doing this yourself
   
• Teach children to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or by coughing into the inside of their elbow, Be sure to set a good example by doing this yourself
   
• Time and distance: teach your children to protect your family bubble or their school cohort, and practice physical distancing of about six feet away from others
   
• Mask up with a cloth face covering when appropriate, especially indoors in crowded public places, on the school bus, and in school hallways. Grades 3 and older in the KPBSD wear a mask at school when six foot physical distancing is not possible

When you have COVID-19 related questions, contact your school nurse, healthcare provider, local public health department, or visit the state DHSS or national CDC websites. You can find specific information for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on our dedicated COVID-19 in KPBSD Hub webpage that includes communication updates, safety protocols, 2020 Smart Start Plan, sports and activities, risk levels on the Kenai Peninsula, and the COVID19 Confirmed Case in School Response Matrix. Your school is always available to help, or you can reach out to the school district COVID-19 line at 907-714-8864, email covid19@kpbsd.org, or visit covid19.kpbsd.org.

This year will require adaption, a flexible mindset, and we will get through this with both challenges and blessings. We promise to communicate often, be proactive and swiftly reactive when necessary, even when we do not have all the answers. Superintendent John O’Brien reminds us, “We will focus on and provide for the social, emotional, and mental health needs of our students, staff, parents, and community. I have no doubt that together we will not only get through this new school year but will also hopefully become more resilient and empathetic to the needs of others.”

By Paul Engleman                         Illustrations by Fien Jorissen

Sixty-five years ago, in 1955, I was diagnosed with polio. I was two years old, so I was unaware of what it meant to have been infected with the poliovirus, but I became more aware of it in subtle ways as I got older. And at some point, I understood what my mother meant when she said I was “one of the lucky ones.”

My mother came from Jersey City, New Jersey, and she sounded like it all her life, aided and abetted by a daily regimen of unfiltered Kool cigarettes. She drove a supply truck as a civilian during World War II and delighted in telling a tale about a GI who tried to “get fresh” with her when she gave him a lift back to the base. When she told him she was married and her husband was deployed overseas, he said, “Baby, what’re you saving it for — the worms?”

She stopped the truck and told him, “Ride in back, buster!” I have no doubt that she used an expletive, although she never employed one in the retelling, Jersey accent notwithstanding. But she still thought “saving it for the worms” was the funniest line she had ever heard. She was a woman who could take things in stride, the quintessential “tough cookie.”

But there was one recollection that could unravel my mother like no other — the one that involved her youngest son being diagnosed with polio and the palpable fear that stalked parents across the country during the summers of the early 1950s. She could not stop her voice from cracking when she spoke about that time. That, along with her warnings about staying out of “polio puddles” after it rained, shaped my awareness of how frightening the epidemic had been.

Among my childhood memories, getting the oral polio vaccine is as vivid as the classroom drills that taught us to seek safety under our desks in case of a nuclear attack. While I can now joke about how sturdy school desks must have been back then, there’s no amusement in my recollection of lining up outside the local firehouse for the Sabin sugar cube — that was serious, important business. I knew it then, and I know it now.

My appreciation for having survived polio faded away over time, but returned in force about 12 years ago when I began writing for Rotary magazine. I had assumed polio had been eradicated — or, more accurately, I didn’t think about it. I have since had the opportunity to get to know, and be awed by, some of the Rotarian volunteers who are working to achieve that goal.

One of the lucky ones

Now, as the novel coronavirus makes its way across the world, I feel a renewed gratitude for what it means to be one of the lucky ones — and a deeper understanding of how terrifying life was for many people six decades ago. As a 67-year-old former smoker, I’m among those now considered vulnerable — I have two adult children to keep reminding me of that — but I’m also among the privileged. My wife and I are able to work from home, we live in a single-family house with creature comforts, and we can afford to practice social distancing with little sacrifice.

Although adults were not immune to polio — President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously contracted the disease at age 39 — most of its victims were young children. Today, COVID-19 appears to pose the most danger to people over 60 — that is, the same group that polio targeted 65 years ago. “There was a high level of fear in the country then, very similar to what we have now,” says Cort Vaughan, who is one of those volunteers I’m awed by. When we spoke in April, Vaughan and his wife, Tonya, had recently returned from participating in a polio vaccination campaign in India.

A member of the Rotary Club of Greater Bend, Oregon, and a past End Polio Now coordinator, Vaughan began his work on the polio front before he was even aware of it: He was a March of Dimes poster child in Riverside, California, when he was three years old. He still has a copy of an article from a local newspaper with a photo of him dressed as a cowboy guarding the spare change that people contributed during a fundraising drive in 1955.

Vaughan doesn’t remember contracting polio at age two in October 1954, but, he says, “I have clear memories of my parents relating stories about it, and I could feel the emotion in their voices about what they went through. For my mother, it was like she was reliving the fear and anxiety of having her child stricken with a potentially deadly disease. Their stories were so vivid, so palpable, they almost became my own memories.”

The darkest story starts with his mother discovering one morning that her toddler was suddenly unable to walk, calling the doctor, and rushing him to the hospital. “If you had to go to the hospital, there was a high probability of being crippled for life,” Vaughan says. “Once my parents took me there, it was out of their hands.” At that time, polio wards restricted visitors, and Vaughan’s mother was desperate to be with him. “She discovered a women’s group that was sending volunteers to hospitals. She joined the Junior League primarily to get to see me.”

Vaughan’s illness paralyzed his right leg from the knee down, requiring him to wear a brace and sentencing him to a childhood in which frequent trips to the hospital for physical therapy replaced playing outdoors with friends. “I didn’t feel lucky then, but looking back, now I do,” he says. He also believes that the knowledge that comes from living with the scars of polio has heightened his grasp of what is required to overcome the current pandemic. “I know what it’s like to face a hidden threat, and I understand the need for people to stay vigilant and work together to prevent the spread,” he says. “I was defending the stay-at-home order in Oregon early on, when friends and relatives were thinking it was not really serious.”

Breaking the silence around polio

If the term “tough cookie” ever makes it back into common parlance, Carol Ferguson could be its poster adult. It wasn’t until her late 40s that she realized the pain and muscle weakness she was experiencing were post-polio syndrome linked to contracting the virus four decades earlier. Six years ago, Ferguson enlisted the help of three other polio survivors and five friends to launch the Pennsylvania Polio Survivors Network, a volunteer advocacy organization that shares people’s stories, provides information about post-polio syndrome, and lobbies legislators to increase awareness of polio and of the need to prevent infectious diseases through immunization.

Ferguson, a member of the Rotary Club of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and District 7430 PolioPlus subcommittee chair, says the stories she began hearing at the start of the first wave of COVID-19 bear an eerie resemblance to those her fellow polio survivors tell: a girl hospitalized at age five who remembers weekly visits from her parents during which she could only wave to them through a window; a two-year-old boy who was turned away from a hospital because no beds were available.

Ferguson’s own story is revealing for what her parents didn’t tell her. “When I was two years old, I had the ‘summer grippe,’ which we now know to be polio,” she says. “Ten years later, a doctor examined me and said I had a ‘polio foot.’ That was the only time that word was mentioned. My mother lived to be 92, but she didn’t speak about polio until shortly before she died. My father died having never spoken the word. I realize now that this is a reflection of the fear that they felt.”

Ferguson feels no such need for silence. Earlier this year, she spearheaded an initiative, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition and local Rotary clubs, to produce a vaccination information and resource card to distribute to new parents in the state.

When Jonas Salk announced the success of his historic vaccine trial in April 1955, there was widespread acceptance of the need for mass immunizations. At some point in the future, a modern-day Salk or Albert Sabin will emerge to announce a vaccine to control the spread of COVID-19. But it’s anyone’s guess how widely accepted that vaccine will be.

Although we now have the benefit of communications technology that people in the 1950s could hardly imagine, that technology can also allow misinformation — and disinformation — to spread as rapidly as a virus itself. Ferguson is hopeful that credible and accurate information about vaccines will prevail. Oh, do I hope she’s right.

• This story originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Rotary magazine.

• Paul Engleman is a polio survivor and a frequent contributor to Rotary magazine.

Background

The Alaska COVID-19 Weekly Case Update will be composed every weekend with data from the previous week and the report will be published by the following Wednesday. Data are continually updated on the AK DHSS Data Hub, which reflects the most current case counts. This summary presents data from the previous week and is a snapshot of the information available on known cases at the time. 

Highlights

• We continue to see new cases of COVID-19 in Alaska. 

• The majority of new infections among Alaskans are from community spread, not from travel, meaning that most Alaskans get the virus from someone they work, socialize, or go to school with.

• Many Alaskans who are diagnosed with COVID-19 report that they went to social gatherings, community events, church services and other social venues while they were contagious but before they knew they had the virus.

• Cases disproportionately affect Alaska Native People and that proportion is rising; Alaskans who identify as Black or Pacific Islander are also disproportionately impacted although the numbers of people affected in these populations are smaller, making it more difficult to judge whether these differences will be statistically significant

• Many cases are still under investigation and race is not yet known.

• Hospital occupancy statewide remained between around 50% and 60% this week, however this number includes beds in smaller hospitals that do not usually accept patients transferred from larger communities.

• Alaskans should avoid gatherings, wear masks when around any non-household member, keep six feet of distance from anyone not in their household and wash hands frequently to slow community transmission of COVID-19.

New cases

This week saw 491 new cases in Alaskans and 21 in nonresidents, for a total of 5,226 and 860 respectively. Several cases previously classified as resident cases have since been reclassified as nonresident cases after further investigation took place. 18 additional Alaskans required hospitalization this week for COVID-19, for a total of 215 since the epidemic began. Five additional deaths were reported this week, for a total of 37. By convention, deaths are counted based on the residency of the patient rather than where they contracted the virus.  

Cases occurring in schools

As school starts around Alaska, several cases have been identified in conjunction with schools or school sports, including several cases identified in Matanuska-Susitna Borough schools, one case identified in a high school football player in Fairbanks North Star Borough, and several cases identified in conjunction with the UAF hockey team. 

The divisions of Public Health and Epidemiology are working closely with school districts to respond to cases in school, conduct contact tracing, investigate whether there has been any spread within schools and determine when it is reasonable to reopen.  

Epidemic curve

This analysis projects growth or reduction in cases predicted in the coming weeks based on the growth of cases in recent weeks. The most recent 7 days (grey bars) are not included because there can be a delay in reporting data. This model assumes exponential growth or reduction in cases and can be a useful tool to visualize how quickly cases are increasing or decreasing. This curve does not project what might happen if more people start wearing masks or increase physical distancing; it assumes Alaskans and visitors to Alaska do not change their behavior. The dotted line is the average prediction, and the grey shaded area is estimated error for the predicted rise in cases. For a full description of methods, visit https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/

Currently, cases are predicted to halve about every 75 days based on the current case trend, a slight improvement from last week, when cases were predicted to halve every 90 days. Keeping the case trend prediction downsloping will depend on a continued effort among Alaskans to slow the spread of transmission through physical distancing, masks and limiting contacts. 

Communities affected this week 

New cases were found in Alaskans who are residents of the following communities:

• Anchorage (269), Chugiak (1), Eagle River (6), for a total of 276 in the Anchorage Municipality
• Bethel (4) and smaller communities in the Bethel Census Area (16) for a total of 20
• Fairbanks (71), North Pole (6) and one in a smaller community, for a total of 78 in the Fairbanks North Star Borough
• Juneau (11)
• Kenai (4), Homer (1), Soldotna (5) and one in a smaller community, for a total of 11 in the Kenai Peninsula Borough
• Ketchikan (4)
• Wasilla (26), Palmer (9), Sutton-Alpine (2) and 1 in Willow for 38 in the Mat-Su Borough
• Nome (2) and 6 in a smaller community or communities, for a total of 8 in the Nome Census Area
• Utquiagvik (9) and one in a smaller community, for a total of 10 in the North Slope Borough
• Kotzebue (1) and 3 in a smaller community or communities, for a total of 4 in the Northwest Arctic Borough
• 5 in communities in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
• Sitka (4)
• Unalaska (2)
• Cordova (1), Valdez (2), and one in a smaller community, for a total of 4 in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area
• Wrangell (2)
• Yakutat plus Hoonah-Angoon Census Areas (9)
• Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area (5)

Case rates and alert levels

7-day Case Rate Map (cases per 100,000 people)

The 7 day case rate map depicts cases adjusted by population for a given region (cases per 100,000 people). The regions are large because Alaska is a large state with few densely populated centers, so this case rate can only be meaningful across large regions. 

Regions with increased rates this week included the Anchorage Municipality (13.1 from 11.7), Fairbanks North Star Borough (11.5 from 10.3), Y-K Delta Region (10.9 from 4.9), the Southern Southeast Region (6.5 from 5.7) and the Northern Southeast Region (9.1 from a rate too small to calculate last week). 

Among improved regions are the Northwest region, still high at 10.4 but improved from 15.6 last week, the Interior Region at 5.5 from 9.8, Mat-Su (5.0 from 7.7), Kenai Peninsula Borough (2.7 from 7.7), and Juneau City and Borough (4.0 from 6.7). 

Most states use a 7 day case rate per 100,000 population to estimate trends in community transmission. Roughly, rates of >10 cases daily per 100,000 population correspond to widespread community transmission and >5 to moderate community transmission, but a sharp increase or decrease in these rates can help predict how the next week or weeks will look for the region.  

Because of Alaska’s unique geography and smaller population, a 14 day case rate can also be useful. The alert level map above, designed to help long term facilities decide when it may be safer to allow visitors in their facilities, uses a 14 day case rate approach. 

In high alert level (red) is the Northwest Borough (12.7 from 11.7 last week),  Fairbanks North Star Borough (10.8 from 8.3), and the Anchorage Municipality (12.6 from 13.0). 

In intermediate alert level (orange) is Kenai Peninsula Borough (5.8 from 9.1), the Interior Region excluding Fairbanks (7.9 from 10.4), Juneau City and Borough (5.1 from 11.6), Matanuska-Susitna Borough (6.2 from 6.4), the Y-K Delta Region (7.3 from 5.4), the Northern Southeast Region (6.3 from 4.5), and the Southern Southeast region (6.1 from 6.5). 

In low alert level (yellow) is the Southwest region (1.7 from 3.5).

More information on alert levels is available on this page. 

How Alaskans acquired COVID-19

DHSS monitors how people most likely got the virus. In green in the plot below are Alaska residents who acquired COVID-19 by traveling to other states or countries. In March, a substantial proportion of our cases were related to Alaskans returning from elsewhere, while in April and May, fewer Alaskans traveled. Since June, as travel has started to increase, cases in Alaskans related to travel have begun to occur more regularly. 

In blue below are cases where Alaskans got COVID-19 from a known contact. These are people who did not leave the state, but we could trace their illness back to the person they got it from. The goal is for contact tracing to identify each of these cases where someone got it from someone else they had contact with so they can let all other contacts of both people know to quarantine. As contact tracing expanded in May, more cases from contacts were identified.

In red, however, are cases where Alaskans got COVID-19 and contact tracing was not able to establish a clear source. This demonstrates that there are other cases in our communities that we have not found yet. The biggest increase in cases in Alaska has been in people aged 20-39, with many cases linked to bars and social gatherings.

Grey bars show the cases where the investigation has not yet concluded. Since the workload for contact tracers has more than doubled in the last few weeks, they are working as fast as possible to identify and quarantine contacts. Alaskans can help contact tracers move faster and prevent more cases by keeping their contact list small, keeping a diary of who they are in close contact with (defined as within 6 feet for 10 minutes or more), wearing cloth face coverings when around any non-household members or in public, and responding promptly to being contacted. 

Weekly update: Symptom Free School Protocols, risk levels, meals, photos

KPBSD Weekly Update: August 26, 2020

“During this first week of school, I have heard countless positive stories from our staff about how excited they are to have students back and begin a new school year. I am closely watching each day as DHSS releases COVID-19 case counts, and am pleased with how the Central Peninsula has been trending the past few days.

I am hopeful that we will be able to open our Central Peninsula schools to in-person onsite learning on Tuesday September 8, 2020, if these encouraging trends continue. Thank you for your patience and commitment to education on the Kenai Peninsula.” –Superintendent John O’Brien

New Risk Level Data Dashboard by school, geographical area, and 14 day positive case count is live, and updated automatically, every day! The need to make rational and informed operational decisions is primary for the health and safety of schools. KPBSD incorporates science-based guidance to assist in decision-making processes. Learn more at the KPBSD and COVID19 risk level webpage. Tip: visit and bookmark the new data dashboard.
 

What is the Symptom-Free School Protocol for students and staff?

The purpose of this protocol is to provide a learning environment that is as free of illness as possible, so students and staff of all health levels can participate in school without fear. By extension, this will also promote the safety, health and welfare of our communities. This applies to students, staff, parents and guardians, volunteers, and any school visitors.

Parents and Guardians: check your child’s temperature every morning before sending them to school. Ask your child how they feel before determining if they should be sent to school.

When to Stay Home from School

Stay home if:

• You have active vomiting or diarrhea
• You have fever, chills, generalized body aches. (Fever threshold will constitute 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or higher without use of fever-reducing medication like Tylenol or Ibuprofen.)
• If you have any other COVID-19 symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, shaking with chills, muscle pain, runny or stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell.
  • Parent, guardian, or individual should call their health care provider or Public Health first for guidance regarding presenting symptoms and possible testing for COVID-19
• You are taking the first 24 hours of antibiotic treatment
• You have an undiagnosed, new and, or, untreated rash or skin condition
• If you have traveled outside Alaska or returned in the last 14 days and have not yet completed the state-required quarantine and, or, testing protocol

When to Return to School After Illness

• If you have been tested and are diagnosed with COVID19, you may return to school no sooner than 10 days after the onset of symptoms, or the date you took the test that was returned positive, whichever is earlier, and you have been symptom free for 24 hours without medication
• If you have COVID19-like symptoms but choose not to be tested, you may return to school no sooner than 10 days after the onset of symptoms AND you must be fever-free for 24 hours without taking any medicine to reduce the fever AND you must be free of cough, cold, or other symptoms for 24 hours, without taking medication to reduce symptoms
• If you have COVID19-like symptoms, are tested and receive a negative result, you may provide the test result and return to school 24 hours after you have been symptom-free with no medication
• If you have symptoms and visit a doctor who determines your symptoms are caused by something else besides COVID19, you can provide a doctor’s note and return to school 24 hours after you have been symptom free with no medication
• If you feel the symptoms were caused by a chronic problem, such as allergies, please consult your school nurse. Your doctor may be able to provide an order with an alternate diagnosis. However, your child will still have to be symptom-free before returning to school

Links

• COVID19 Risk Levels in KPBSD and new risk level dashboard
• Get-It and Go Meals – ordering information and more
• webpage: COVID19 and KPBSD
• webpage: KPBSD 2020 Smart Start
• webpage: Sports and Activities, and conditions for play
• webpage: KPBSD School Start and End Times

If you have a first day of school photo to share in the KPBSD 2020-2021 Social Photo Album, email it to communications@KPBSD.org!

Tags: COVID19 Risk Levels, new school year, Symptom Free Schools

This entry was posted on August 26, 2020 at 5:17 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in KPBSD District Stories by Pegge Erkeneff 

• There are far more active cases in Alaska now than there were at any point in March, April, May or June, but there has been a gradual decrease since a high in late July.
• In the last week, Alaska saw a 11% increase in cases, with 47% of new cases identified in Anchorage. 
• Nearly 40% of this week's new cases were among people aged 20-39 years.
• The percent of Alaskans who have recovered from COVID-19 compared to total cases in Alaska residents is increasing, but there are still more active than recovered cases reported.
• Of complete investigations, 61% of this week's new cases were community-acquired or secondary, meaning that those Alaskans got COVID-19 from others in their community rather than through travel.
• Many people diagnosed with COVID-19 statewide continue to report attending social gatherings, community events, church services and other social venues while they were contagious but before they were aware they had the virus. 
• Hospital beds used for patients with COVID-19 ranged from 32 to 45 over the past week.
• Total statewide hospital bed occupancy has remained between 50% to 60% over the past week, although this includes urban hospital beds as well as beds in smaller hospitals that do not often accept transfers from other hospitals.
• Alaskans should avoid gatherings, wear masks in public, keep six feet of distance from anyone outside of their household and wash hands frequently to slow the spread of COVID-19.  

7-day Case Rate Map (cases per 100,000 people)

Central Peninsula Schools Rise to High Risk

News Release: 17 KPBSD schools in Central Peninsula will open with 100% remote learning on August 24, 2020

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Soldotna, August 18, 2020—COVID19 community transmission risk level jumped to High Risk (Red) on August 18, 2020, for the geographical region KPBSD defines as “Central Peninsula” when the State of Alaska positive COVID19 case count reported numbers today. This triggers a safety and operational decision for the school district about opening schools to onsite learning. The need to make rational and informed operational decisions is primary for the health and safety of our students, staff, and communities. In contrast, at this time, risk levels dictate schools in the Southern Peninsula (Homer area), Eastern Peninsula (Seward area); and schools in individual or remote communities* will all begin with the onsite school option available.

“Offering predictability for our families, staff, and communities is tricky during a global pandemic,” said Superintendent O’Brien. “I’ve made the difficult decision to suspend opening schools in central peninsula to onsite at school learning on August 24, 2020. I know how hard this is for our students who are excited to return to school, for families, and for our staff. I’ve looked at the science-based guidance to assist in our decision-making process, consulted with our KPBSD COVID19 Risk Level Medical Advisory Group, and am following our SmartStart plan. I am disappointed the positive case count appears to be trending with increases in high risk levels. Every day we will evaluate risk level trends and actual counts. To aid planning for families and eliminate a ping-pong effect back and forth between risk levels, I hope that if case levels in the central peninsula drop to a medium risk level, we can open schools to onsite learning after Labor Day, on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. We will continue providing district level updates every week, plus each school will communicate directly with their families.”

When a school moves into a High Risk (red) level, KPBSD will provide services and learning opportunities onsite in school for vulnerable students. In the SmartStart plan, Special Education PreK; Title I PreK; Kindergarten; and certain groups of students in special education will be able to attend school in person. Bus transportation will continue for students in special education who already receive special education bussing services. In all other instances, transportation will need to be provided by parents or guardians during high-risk levels. Please contact your school or case manager directly with questions.

Which schools are opening with High Risk, 100% Remote Learning?

Central Kenai Peninsula includes Kasilof to Sterling, extending through Kenai, Nikiski, Soldotna, and DHSS “other north” communities

• Aurora Borealis Charter School
• Kaleidoscope Charter School
• K-Beach Elementary School
• Kenai Alternative School
• Kenai Central High School
• Kenai Middle School
• Mountain View Elementary School
• Nikiski Middle-High School
• Nikiski North Star Elementary School
• Redoubt Elementary School
• River City Academy
• Skyview Middle School
• Soldotna Elementary School
• Soldotna High School
• Soldotna Montessori Charter School
• Sterling Elementary School
• Other North: Tustumena Elementary School

What do parents and guardians need to know?

• Schools will contact their families to give further instructions and respond to questions about the new school year beginning with 100% remote learning
• Get It and Go Meals for students will begin Monday, August 24, 2020. Details will be in a separate communication
• All sports competitions in the central peninsula are cancelled. This affects Kenai Central High School; Nikiski Middle-High School; Soldotna High School; Aurora Borealis Charter School; Kenai Middle School; and Skyview Middle School. KPBSD follows ASAA Return-to-Practice Protocols  
• Pools: Kenai Central High School, Skyview High School, and Soldotna High School pools are closed to public use

This data summary covers COVID-19 in Alaska from Sunday, August 2nd through Saturday, August 8th, 2020.

Background

The Alaska COVID-19 Weekly Case Update will be composed every weekend with data from the previous week and the report will be published by the following Wednesday. Data are continually updated on the AK DHSS Data Hub, which reflects the most current case counts. This summary presents data from the previous week and is a snapshot of the information available on known cases at the time. 

Highlights

·         Alaska continues to see rapid increases in resident and nonresident new cases 

·         The biggest increase this week was in Anchorage, which had 272 new cases, or 62% of this week’s increase

·         Fewer new cases were seen this week than last week in Anchorage, the second full week since Anchorage reinstituted restrictions July 22 on restaurants, bars and other gathering places in response to community-wide spread; Anchorage also closed bars and restaurants to all in-person service August 3rd.

·         Total cases among Alaska residents rose 14% this week with 442 new cases

·         The majority of new cases continue to be among Alaskans aged 20-29, with cases among Alaskans in their 20s and 30s still rising 

·         Most nonresident cases have been identified before the person had significant community interaction

·         Most new cases in Alaskans are acquired from other Alaskans who have not traveled

·         Transmission between Alaskans at social gatherings, within families, at community events, churches and bars has significantly contributed to the rise in cases

·         Hospital capacity is currently adequate, but hospitalizations and deaths are increasing 

·         Alaskans should avoid gatherings, wear face coverings in public, keep six feet of distance from non-household members and practice good hand hygiene to slow transmission of COVID-19 

New cases

This week saw 442 new cases in Alaskans and 60 in nonresidents, for a total of 3,706 and 764 respectively. 10 additional Alaskans required hospitalization this week for COVID-19, for a total of 154 since the epidemic began. Two additional deaths were reported this week, for a total of 26. By convention, deaths are counted based on the residency of the patient rather than where they contracted the virus. 

Epidemic curve

This analysis projects growth or reduction in cases predicted in the coming weeks based on the growth of cases in recent weeks. The most recent 7 days (grey bars) are not included because there can be a delay in reporting data. This model assumes exponential growth or reduction in cases and can be a useful tool to visualize how quickly cases are increasing or decreasing. This curve does not project what might happen if more people start wearing masks or increase physical distancing; it assumes Alaskans and visitors to Alaska do not change their behavior. The dotted line is the average prediction, and the grey shaded area is estimated error for the predicted rise in cases. Currently, cases are predicted to halve about every 38 days based on the current case trend, a reversal in trend from last week, when they were predicted to double about every 21 days; however, this will depend on a continued effort among Alaskans to slow the spread of transmission through physical distancing, masks and limiting contacts. 

For a full description of methods, visit https://coronavirus-response-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com/

Communities affected this week 

New cases were found in Alaskans who are residents of the following communities:

·         Anchorage (272), Chugiak (5), and Eagle River (14), for a total of 291 new cases in the Anchorage Municipality. 

·         Fairbanks (29) and North Pole (6) for a total of 35 new cases in the Fairbanks North Star Borough

·         Wasilla (20), Palmer (10), Houston (1), Willow (4), Sutton-Alpine (1), Big Lake (1), and a smaller community (1) for a total of 39 new cases in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough

·         Seward (2), Soldotna (9), Homer (1), Fritz Creek (1), Sterling (4) and a smaller community (1) for a total of 18 new cases in the Kenai Peninsula Borough

·         Cordova (1), and 1 in a smaller community in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, for a total of 2

·         Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area (6)

·         Juneau (17)

·         Delta Junction (3)

·         Ketchikan (1)

·         Kotzebue (1) and 3 in a smaller community or communities in the Northwest Arctic Borough, for a total of 4

·         Sitka (3)

·         Utqiagvik (5)

·         Nome Census Area (2) 

·         Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula (4)

·         Bethel Census Area (1)

·         Aleutians East Borough (1)

·         Metlakatla (1)

·         Wrangell (1)

·         Hooper Bay (1) and one in a smaller community for 2 total in Kusilvak Census Area 

Case rates and alert levels

The 7 day case rate map depicts cases adjusted by population for a given region (cases per 100,000 people). The regions are large because Alaska is a large state with few densely populated centers, so this case rate can only be meaningful across large regions. 

Currently, Anchorage Municipality remains in the red, but has decreased its 7 day case rate from 28 to 14 in the last week. The Interior Region has worsened slightly to 9.2 from 7 last week, and the Northwest Region has improved to 6.3 from 8.8. Next, Fairbanks North Star Borough and Kenai Peninsula Borough had 4.6 and 5.9 respectively, both declined modestly since last week. Matanuska-Susitna Borough has improved to 5.8 from 8.6 last week. Juneau City and Borough worsened to 8.5 from 6.7. Most states use a 7 day case rate per 100,000 population to estimate trends in community transmission. Roughly, rates of >10 cases daily per 100,000 population correspond to widespread community transmission and >5 to moderate community transmission, but a sharp increase or decrease in these rates can help predict how the next week or weeks will look for the region. 

 7-day Case Rate Map (cases per 100,000 people)

Because of Alaska’s unique geography and smaller population, a 14 day case rate can also be useful. The alert level map below, designed to help long term facilities decide when it may be safer to allow visitors in their facilities, uses a 14 day case rate approach. By that approach, the Interior Region excluding Fairbanks is improved to the intermediate alert level, going from a case rate of 18 to a case rate of 7.9 in a week.  The Anchorage Municipality, which nearly doubled its rate in a week from 10.9 to 20.5, is now down to 18.5 a week later. Fairbanks itself has improved from 7.2 to 5. Kenai Peninsula Borough’s rate has improved slightly to 6.5 from 8 last week. Matanuska-Susitna Borough rose to 7.4 from 7.25 and Juneau City and Borough from 6.7 to 7.4, and with the Northwest Borough (7.6 from 7.3 last week) are in the intermediate (orange) alert level. Other regions had case rates <5, including the Northern and Southern Southeast Regions, which improved from 5.9 to 4.2 and 5.0 to 2.2 respectively in the past week. 

Alaska COVID-19 Alert Levels

More information on alert levels is available on this page. 

How Alaskans acquired COVID-19

DHSS monitors how people most likely got the virus. In green in the plot below are Alaska residents who acquired COVID-19 by traveling to other states or countries. In March, a substantial proportion of our cases were related to Alaskans returning from elsewhere, while in April and May, fewer Alaskans traveled. Since June, as travel has started to increase, cases in Alaskans related to travel have begun to occur more regularly. 

In blue below are cases where Alaskans got COVID-19 from a known contact. These are people who did not leave the state, but we could trace their illness back to the person they got it from. The goal is for contact tracing to identify each of these cases where someone got it from someone else they had contact with so they can let all other contacts of both people know to quarantine. As contact tracing expanded in May, more cases from contacts were identified.

In red, however, are cases where Alaskans got COVID-19 and contact tracing was not able to establish a clear source. This demonstrates that there are other cases in our communities that we have not found yet. The biggest increase in cases in Alaska has been in people aged 20-39, with many cases linked to bars and social gatherings.

Grey bars show the cases where the investigation has not yet concluded. Since the workload for contact tracers has more than doubled in the last few weeks, they are working as fast as possible to identify and quarantine contacts. Alaskans can help contact tracers move faster and prevent more cases by keeping their contact list small, keeping a diary of who they are in close contact with (defined as within 6 feet for 10 minutes or more), wearing cloth face coverings when around any non-household members or in public, and responding promptly to being contacted. 

1. Immediate Relief for Alaskans
   • COVID-19 Emergency Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) – $815 million (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
     • Immediate appropriation and release of the unfunded 2019 PFD
   • Full Statutory 2020 PFD (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
     • Issued in two payments of ~$1,550 in June & October
   • Emergency unemployment benefits (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
   • Alaska Housing Finance Corporation mortgage relief
   • Student loan interest waiver – $2.3 million (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
   • Reduction/suspension of fees across selected state agencies
      
2. Alaska Businesses
   • Establish the Alaska COVID-19 Emergency Business Loan Program
     • Provide 100% state-guaranteed loans to Alaskan businesses for immediate relief.
     • Loan program will be administered by local banks and structured to meet Alaska’s unique needs.
   • State Training Employment Program (STEP) – $2 million (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
      
3. COVID-19 Emergency Healthcare Enhancements
   • Alaska COVID-19 Healthcare Fund – $75 million
     • Emergency response/isolation shelters
     • Additional medical personnel
     • Critical supplies, test kits, ventilators, & protective gear
   • Expand telehealth services
      
4. Municipalities
   • Emergency Community Lost Revenue Replacement Program
     • Replace lost revenue due to negative economic impacts associated with COVID-19
        
5. School Districts
   • Statewide virtual schools – $518,000 (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
   • School nutrition – $3 million (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
   • Distance delivery education – $500,000 (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
   • Student laptop & digital content – $1 million (Dependent Upon Legislative Action)
      
6. State Workforce
   • Retrofit state offices to protect against the spread of COVID-19
   • Telecommuting options for state employees

• $21,000

• 200

• Choose one or two family members who are not at a higher risk to run the essential errands.
• Wear a cloth face covering, avoid crowds, practice social distancing, and follow these recommended tips for running errands.
• Limit use of public transportation, such as the train or bus, during this period if possible.
  If you must use public transportation:
  • Maintain a 6-foot distance from other passengers as much as possible.
  • Avoid touching high-touch surfaces such as handrails, and wash hands or use hand sanitizers as soon as possible after leaving.
  • More information on how to protect yourself when using public transportation
• Don’t ride in a car with members of different households. If that’s not possible:
  • Limit close contact and create space between others in the vehicle.
  • Improve air flow in the car by opening the window or placing air conditioning on non-recirculation mode.
• Wash your hands immediately after you return home.
• Maintain as much physical distance as possible with those at higher risk in the home. For example, avoid hugging, kissing, or sharing food or drinks.

• If possible, have only one person in the household take care of the person who is sick. This caregiver should be someone who is not at higher risk for severe illness and should minimize contact with other people in the household.
  • Identify a different caregiver for other members of the household who require help with cleaning, bathing, or other daily tasks.
• If possible, maintain 6 feet between the person who is sick and other family or household members.

• If you need to share a bedroom with someone who is sick, make sure the room has good air flow.
  • Open the window and turn on a fan to bring in and circulate fresh air if possible.
  • Maintain at least 6 feet between beds if possible.
  • Sleep head to toe.
  • Put a curtain around or place other physical divider (e.g., shower curtain, room screen divider, large cardboard poster board, quilt, or large bedspread) to separate the ill person’s bed.

• If you need to share a bathroom with someone who is sick, the person who is sick should clean and disinfect the frequently touched surfaces in the bathroom after each use. If this is not possible, the person who does the cleaning should:
  • Open outside doors and windows before entering and use ventilating fans to increase air circulation in the area.
  • Wait as long as possible before entering the room to clean and disinfect or to use the bathroom.

• If you are sick, do not help prepare food. Also, eat separately from the family.

Regular Meeting Thursday October 22, 2020 Noon Using Zoom

1. “Road System” is defined as any community connected by a road to the Seward, Parks, Klondike, Richardson, Sterling, Glenn, or Top of the World Highways.
2. “Marine Highway System” is defined as any community served by the Alaska Marine Highway System or the Inter-Island Ferry System.
3. “Critical Personal Needs” is defined as those needs that are critical to meeting a person’s individual or family needs. Those needs include buying, selling, or delivering groceries and home goods; obtaining fuel for vehicles or residential needs; transporting family members for out-of-home care, essential health needs, or for purposes of child custody exchanges; receiving essential health care; providing essential health care to a family member; obtaining other important goods; and engaging in subsistence activities.
4. “Essential Services/Critical Infrastructure” is defined as businesses included in “Alaska’s Essential Services and Critical Infrastructure” (formerly Attachment A)

1. Critical Personal Needs
2. The conduct of Essential Services/Critical Infrastructure

1. No one traveling to or from any community for Critical Infrastructure/Essential Services reasons or Critical Personal Needs travel may be subject to any automatic quarantine or isolation on arrival, except as allowed under Alaska Statutes or Health Mandates.
2. Air carriers, ferries, and other travel-related businesses have no duty to verify that intrastate travelers meet the criteria for permissible travel under this Mandate. Air carriers shall inquire if travelers are permitted to travel under this Mandate and shall rely upon a traveler’s assurance that they are eligible to travel.
3. Groups traveling are subject to Mandate 016, Attachment N, Social Distancing.
1. All businesses, whether Essential Services/Critical Infrastructure or non-essential/non-critical, that have staff traveling between communities, must file a protective plan with akcovidplans@ak-prepared.com. The plan should outline how the business will avoid the spread of COVID-19 and not endanger lives in the communities in which the business wants to operate, endanger others who serve as a part of the business community, or endanger the ability of critical infrastructure to function. If you have already submitted a plan pursuant to a prior Health Mandate, you do not need to submit another plan. Visit https://covid19.alaska.gov/unified-command/protective-plans/ for guidance.
2. Alaskans should refer to other Health Mandates and guidance as necessary and appropriate.

1. Stops shall be minimized on the way to the final destination.
2. If travelers must stop for food, gas, or supplies, only one traveler shall engage with the third-party vendor. All travelers must practice social distancing by keeping six feet away from others when possible, and avoid crowded places whenever possible. Cloth face coverings should be used whenever a traveler engages with a third-party vendor(s).
3. Travelers, traveling by car or vehicle, who have to stop shall wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before exiting, and immediately after returning to, the car or vehicle.

Health Mandate 017: Protective Measures for Independent Commercial Fishing Vessels

Issued: April 23, 2020

By: Governor Mike Dunleavy
Commissioner Adam Crum, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
Dr. Anne Zink, Chief Medical Officer, State of Alaska

To slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the State of Alaska is issuing its seventeenth health mandate, based on its authority under the Public Health Disaster Emergency Declaration signed by Governor Mike Dunleavy on March 11, 2020.

Given the ongoing concern for new cases of COVID-19 being transmitted via community spread within the state, Governor Dunleavy and the State of Alaska are issuing Mandate 017 to go into effect April 24, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. and will reevaluate the Mandate by May 20, 2020.

This Mandate is issued to protect the public health of Alaskans. By issuing this Mandate, the Governor is establishing consistent mandates across the State in order to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. The goal is to flatten the curve and disrupt the spread of the virus.

The purpose of this Mandate is to enact protective measures for independent commercial fishing vessels operating within Alaskan waters and ports in order to prevent, slow, and otherwise disrupt the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The State of Alaska acknowledges the importance of our commercial fishing fleet to our economy and lifestyle as Alaskans. In order to ensure a safe, productive fishing season this year, while still protecting Alaskan communities to the maximum extent possible from the spread of the virus, the State is establishing standardized protective measures to be followed by all independent commercial fishing vessels operating in Alaskan waters and ports.

Health Mandate 017 – Protective Measures for Independent Commercial Fishing Vessels.

• Applicability
  1. Definition: For the purposes of this Mandate, “independent commercial fishing vessels” are defined as all catcher and tender vessels that have not agreed to operate under a fleet-wide plan submitted by a company, association, or entity that represents a fleet of vessels. This Mandate alleviates the requirement for independent commercial fishing vessels to submit a Community/Workforce Protective Plan in response to Health Mandates 010 or 012.
  2. This Mandate does not apply to skiffs operating from shore; protective measures for those vessels will be provided under separate guidance.
• Required Protective Measures/Plans
  1. Independent commercial fishing vessels operating in Alaskan waters and ports must enact the protective measures and procedures described in Appendix 01, the Alaska Protective Plan for Commercial Fishing Vessels.
  2. Vessel captains must enact controls on their vessel to ensure crewmember compliance with this Mandate.

• Travel and Access
  1. Compliance with this Mandate does not constitute a right to travel or access into any areas.
  2. It is incumbent upon the individual traveler to ensure that any proposed travel itinerary is still possible, and to adhere to any additional restrictions enacted by air carriers and lodging facilities or by small communities in accordance with the State of Alaska Small Community Emergency Travel Order (Health Mandate 012-Attachment B).
• Compliance and Penalties
  1. Vessel captains are required to maintain documentation as directed by Appendix 01, Paragraph I, and must provide a copy of the Mandate 017 Acknowledgement Form (Appendix 02) upon request by any seafood purchasing agent or Federal, State, or local authority, to include law enforcement and fisheries regulators.
  2. A violation of a State COVID-19 Mandate may subject a business or organization to an order to cease operations and/or a civil fine of up to $1,000 per violation.
  3. In addition to the potential civil fines noted above, a person or organization that fails to follow the State COVID-19 Mandates designed to protect the public health from this dangerous virus and its impacts may, under certain circumstances, also be criminally prosecuted for Reckless Endangerment pursuant to Alaska Statute 11.41.250. Reckless endangerment is defined as follows:

(a) A person commits the crime of reckless endangerment if the person recklessly engages in conduct, which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.

(b) Reckless endangerment is a class A misdemeanor.

Pursuant to Alaska Statute 12.55.135, a defendant convicted of a class A misdemeanor may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment of not more than one year.

Additionally, under Alaska Statute 12.55.035, a person may be fined up to $25,000 for a class A misdemeanor, and a business organization may be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding the greatest of $2,500,000 for a misdemeanor offense that results in death, or $500,000 for a class A misdemeanor offense that does not result in death.

This Mandate Supersedes And Replaces All Previously Submitted Protective Plans For Independent Commercial Fishing Vessels.

This Mandate Does Not Supersede Or Replace Any Previously Enacted Protective Plans For Corporate Vessel Fleets.

Appendix 01, the Alaska Protective Plan for Commercial Fishing Vessels

Appendix 02, Mandate 017 Acknowledgement Form 

For the latest information on COVID-19, visit covid19.alaska.gov

• Helps with respiratory distress                     
• Noninvasive                                                 
• Can be used outside of intensive care units 

Hi all,

Saturday, May 9 is the 50th Anniversary of the creation of Kachemak Bay State Park.  Due to the pandemic, planned celebrations have been cancelled or postponed.  As a way to celebrate our Park, I am suggesting folks have a “stay at home” birthday party with a Park themed cake and ice cream.  Take a picture of your cake and share it for all to enjoy on the Water Trail and the Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park Facebook pages and send the pictures to Craig for our Bulletin.  No judging, no prizes, just a few extra calories and a bit of creative fun.

Below is my practice cake, a Kachemak Bay Blueberry (berries, not wine) cake with a canned frosting and a few sprinkles.  Hope others will think, “I can do better than that.” And then do it.  I will do better than that for our Saturday Party.

Have fun, stay well,

Dave