Sorted by date Results 951 - 975 of 999
As of Wednesday afternoon, Petersburg Medical Center has submitted 39 COVID-19 testing samples to state and commercial laboratories, 26 of which have come back negative and the remaining 13 tests are still pending, according to PMC's Laurie Miller at Wednesday's daily COVID-19 community update. "We're relieved everyday that we don't have a positive test, but we know they are coming," said PMC Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner. On Wednesday evening, the Alaska Department of Health and Social...
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) vessels, M/V Columbia, M/V Kennicott, and M/V Tustumena were scheduled to leave the Ketchikan Shipyard and resume service in mid-April and early May 2020. For the safety of AMHS employees and to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 at the Ketchikan Shipyard, AMHS reduced shipboard crew levels on March 25, to the minimum necessary to safely care for assets. Vigor Ketchikan Shipyard expects to complete overhaul work for the Columbia, Kennicott and...
The Local Emergency Planning Committee held its third meeting last Friday as a weekly effort to update local businesses and borough officials on how the community is reacting to and taking precautions against COVID-19. Since the previous week's LEPC meeting, Petersburg Public Health Nurse Erin Michael said she has begun conducting contact investigations for people in the state who have been exposed to COVID-19. Some of her investigations have also included local residents who have potentially...
The United States Census Bureau has suspended all field operations until April 15 amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement made by the Census Bureau on Saturday. While some Petersburg residents may have already found a questionnaire left on their doorstep with instructions on how to complete the 2020 census, others have not. According to Desi Burrell, a local enumerator with the Census Bureau, residents who received a questionnaire were also given a 12-digit census ID that...
Activities at the Petersburg School District and other school districts across the state have been cancelled for the rest of the academic year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. PSD Activities Director Jaime Cabral said the decision to cancel activities came from the state. On March 20, Gov. Mike Dunleavy issued a health mandate that closed public and private schools through May 1 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Following the announcement, the Alaska School Activities Association...
For the month of February, Petersburg Medical Center saw its net operating revenue and total operating expenses come in over what was budgeted, according to PMC financial statements presented at the PMC Board of Directors meeting last Thursday. The net operating revenue was at $1,571,660 at the end of February, which was 12 percent above the budgeted $1,391,250 for the month. While the total operating expenses also came in over budget, February's revenue was able to offset the difference. PMC...
It took Maura Sullivan about a week to return to Petersburg when the United States Peace Corps began pulling its volunteers out of Zambia on March 16 as COVID-19 was spreading around the world. In the weeks leading up to her forced departure, Sullivan and the other Peace Corps volunteers in Zambia were keeping up with the news on COVID-19, but they weren't aware of how serious the virus was getting. "When you're living abroad, it's kind of hard to grasp the severity of the situation when you're...
Sunday, March 29, started out with a blanket of snow on the ground with more falling from the sky. It wasn't ideal weather but that didn't stop the residents of Petersburg from getting outdoors and going on a "bear hunt." "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is not only the title of a beloved children's story book by Micheal Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, but also a song that kids are often taught in elementary school and the inspiration for this social media idea. With kids at home from school for over two...
WRANGELL – The Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, according to several members of Wrangell's local government, has been doing a very good job of communicating with them during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Assembly Member David Powell said that communications between SEARHC, Mayor Steve Prysunka, and Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen have been taking place almost daily. Prysunka and Von Bargen are really on top of things, he said. Assembly Member Drew Larrabee added that, in his opinion...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Alaska lawmakers early Sunday approved a budget that set this October’s oil wealth fund check to nearly every single Alaskan at about $1,000, but did not approve a second dividend intended to help residents struggling with the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus. Lawmakers worked into the early morning hours to approve the budget, and then took an extended recess to allow members to go to their homes in response to the coronavirus. The Senate in its budget plan had included a $1,000 economic stimulus pay...
The U.S. seafood industry received a $300 million assist from the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress on March 27, and a wide coalition of industry stakeholders is hoping for more. Fishery recipients in the relief bill include tribes, persons, communities, processors, aquaculture and other related businesses. SeafoodNews.com reports that those eligible for relief must have “revenue losses greater than 35 percent as compared to the prior 5-year average revenue, or any negative impacts to subsistence, cultural, or ceremonial f...
Sen. Bert Stedman has been serving Southeast communities for 17 years. He is the Senate Finance Committee co-chair. It did not take a positive test for the Alaska State Legislature to begin addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and treat it with an urgency the virus deserves. Rather, the Senate acted swiftly on March 11 – one day before the state announced its first confirmed case in Alaska– when it passed the first of five bills in a three-week period. As we communicated with our respective com... Full story
While we applaud the work of Wrangell's health care providers as they prepare for the uncertain times before us, it's important to remember that they need us as much as we need them. Every citizen has a part to play in flattening the curve so small hospitals like Wrangell's aren't overwhelmed with stricken patients from COVID-19 infections. Key to flattening the curve is testing symptomatic patients, proper hand washing and social distancing or isolation. Presently SEARHC does not release... Full story
Incident Commander Karl Hagerman signed public health mandate #3 Friday afternoon to temporarily suspend in-person participation during borough assembly meetings or any other public meeting of a borough board and commission effective immediately. “Due to the ongoing public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 crisis, it is in the best interest of public safety and health that public gatherings be avoided,” wrote Hagerman in the health mandate. Hagerman notes in the mandate that the con... Full story
The borough assembly unanimously passed public health mandate #1 at a special meeting on Wednesday that orders residents to shelter in place amid the increasing number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. The mandate goes into effect at 11:59 P.M. on Thursday, March 26. The health mandate comes three days after the assembly passed a public health alert at another special meeting on Sunday that urged the public to shelter in place. Following an outpour of community support for a mandate...
Longtime Petersburg resident Delbert (Pete) Erickson, 77, died on March 16 in Federal Way, Washington. His is the first recorded death caused by the COVID-19 virus in the State of Alaska. Even though he died in Washington, his death is recorded in Alaska, his place of residency. According to his family, Erickson was being treated for congestive heart failure, COPD and poor kidney function at a hospital in Everett, Washington. His son Pete wrote in an email, "If he had not contracted the virus, w...
As the first cruise ships are expected to arrive in town on May 12, it is still too early to tell how COVID-19 will affect the cruise ship industry in Southeast Alaska, according to Dave Berg, co-founder of Viking Travel. One issue affecting large, foreign cruise ships is the closure of the Vancouver cruise ship port, said Berg. The closure was a result of COVID-19, and the cruise ship port isn't expected to reopen until June 30. While most of the ships that port in Petersburg are small,...
If you've got to ride-out a worldwide pandemic, there's no better place than in Petersburg. We're isolated on an island along the edge of the Pacific Ocean, giving us a lot of protection from the spread of COVID-19. With appropriate precautions, followed by all of us, we can get through this. Store managers tell us that shoppers have been respectful of social distancing while in the stores. More and more shoppers are phoning in orders and having them delivered to their homes, avoiding the...
Be nice people To the Editor: I've seen a lot of bashing on social media lately... this is not a time to panic and lash out at others. I personally feel like our community is doing a great job of being proactive about this whole situation we are all in. On that note.... it's simple. Stay home, don't go outside for anything if you feel so inclined but we live in Southeast Alaska for a reason. Some of us have boats, cabins, we love beachcombing, camping, etc. That does not mean we don't take it...
Local canneries are in the beginning stages of developing a plan to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 brought into town by cannery workers that will be hired for the upcoming fishing season. “We have a tremendous responsibility to the communities that we bring workers into,” said a representative from Icicle Seafoods who asked not to be named. The representative said Icicle Seafoods has been screening workers in the past, but the company has stepped up their procedures in light of the COV...
As of Wednesday afternoon, four of the 13 local test specimens that have been sent to state and commercial laboratories have returned negative for COVID-19, according to Petersburg Medical Center CEO Phil Hofstetter. The results of the remaining nine tests are still undetermined. "You would know a lot sooner if there were any positives," said Hofstetter, at a daily COVID-19 community update on Wednesday. Statewide, 59 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday evening, with 13...
The Local Emergency Planning Committee held their second meeting in two weeks telephonically, as the borough and local businesses take further precautions to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in Petersburg. To start off the teleconference, Petersburg Public Health Nurse Erin Michael and Petersburg Medical Center's Laurie Miller gave a brief overview of the new developments being taken by local health professions in reaction to the virus. Michael said the public health office and PMC are making...
WRANGELL– Despite concerns of COVID-19, construction of the new Wrangell Medical Center has continued largely unhindered. Work on the new hospital began back in April of 2019, with an official groundbreaking ceremony in June, after the City and Borough of Wrangell and SEARHC came to a mutual agreement on the project. Work is nearing the one-year mark, and so far everything is largely on track. Current activities at the construction site include sheathing the exterior of the building, roofing wo...
WRANGELL–Governor Mike Dunleavy announced two new statewide health mandates Monday, March 23, in response to the ongoing spread of COVID-19 in Alaska. These are the ninth and tenth health mandates the state government has announced regarding the virus. Many local communities have been taking steps of their own to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading further. These mandates, however, are meant to help statewide efforts to combat COVID-19. The first of these two mandates, Mandate 009 took ef...
