Coronavirus not yet confirmed in Alaska

ANCHORAGE — Gov. Mike Dunleavy was again joined by Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink and Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum to discuss the novel coronavirus and how Alaska’s state health officials are preparing for the high probability of it’s arrival in Alaska. Over 1,000 cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in the United States, but none have yet made their way to Alaska. For more information on coronavirus, the state has provided a webpage at coronavirus.alaska.gov.

“I think Alaska is going to be prepared. There is no doubt that the virus is spreading across the country, chances of it coming here are pretty good,” said Dunleavy.

Dunleavy was joined by Zink and Crum as he has been frequently over the last few weeks, and said that he and his team would provide daily updates until further notice. Crum, Dunleavy and Zink stressed that as of Tuesday, no cases of the coronavirus had been confirmed in Alaska.

“We’re making sure we are planning as much as possible as this progresses,” said Crum. “As this disease has changed around the country, the response has evolved on an hourly basis and so we’re continuing to just make sure we respond and connect with communities that they’re involved with this.”

Zink detailed the evolution of the exchange of information and practices by health officials in Alaska with those at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and Dunleavy said that he had frequently been in communication with Vice President Mike Pence in Washington., D.C. An active freeze on hiring will not extend to health care professionals being brought on to help serve communities across the state. Zink said that Alaska has the capability to test 1,000 people and provide up to 120 tests a day.

“The test is not a cure nor is the test preventative. The best thing you can do if you have a cold, shortness of breath, not feeling well, or a fever is to stay at home and stay away from others. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of acting now. It can be hard to hear this stuff over and over again and not know what to need to act on,” said Zink.

Zink reiterated the importance of vigilance in washing hands with soap and water and asked people to refrain from touching their face and eyes. Patients exhibiting symptoms do not need to physically be located at a health care facility to be tested for the coronavirus.

“Call your health care provider to talk to them about if you should come in to get tested,” said Zink. “This is not a disease about buildings, this is not a disease about air, this is a disease about individuals and droplets so protecting yourself from those droplets is the way that you protect yourself.”

Current tests in Alaska for coronavirus are being handled at the state epidemiology labs in Anchorage and Fairbanks and over 100 trials are currently underway for treatments for coronavirus.