The Haines Emergency Operations Center said that an individual put the community at risk–by not quarantining after being exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. It has since clarified the statement.
The Haines Borough Administration building. (Emily Files)
When the EOC posted on social media Wednesday that an individual in Haines quote “refused” to quarantine it sparked public concern.
“I wasn’t there when they refused. We just have a person who was requested to quarantine who did not. That’s a refusal, right?” said EOC Incident Commander Carolann Wooton. She clarified that “refusal” was in fact several reports of a person seen outside their home when they shouldn’t have been.
She says the EOC walks a fine line between advocating for safety and respecting personal liberties. Wooton says the decision to go public wasn’t easy.
“Do we ignore it? You know, that didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” she said.
“I think my concern, honestly, was that we have one person doing it now if the EOC says absolutely nothing, what’s the next person going to say? You know, there’s that concern that all of a sudden it’s like, well, ‘so-and-so didn’t, so why should I?'”
So what actually happened? Here’s what we know: a person that had come into contact with someone that had tested positive was told to quarantine as a precaution. KHNS spoke with the quarantined person who admitted to walking to and from her office downtown—with a mask and maintaining a six-foot distance from others. But after hearing about complaints, she said she wouldn’t do it again.
Haines Borough doesn’t have a hard and fast rule over quarantines. So the advice given to people who come into contact with confirmed cases is just that: advice.
Even so, state Public Health Nurse Elaine Hickey says such people should definitely not leave their home for two weeks. But even then there are exceptions.
“If that person is an essential worker or they are allowed to continue with work,” she said.
“As long as when they are in work, they are masked and that they are in a place where they are isolated by themselves and not within six feet of people and not having any contact with other people.”
So what if someone willfully breaks quarantine? Enforcement has proven tricky for local officials because the borough hasn’t created an ordinance for police to enforce.
Haines Borough Police Chief Heath Scott told KHNS there’s no quarantine rule on the books. However, if someone tests positive they must isolate under state law and could be prosecuted if they don’t.
COVID-19 testing is available in Haines to all patients who exhibit symptoms. Local health provider SEARHC is not testing asymptomatic people at this time. Appointments for tests can be made by calling 766-6300.
