Skagway’s Dahl Memorial Clinic identified a second active case of COVID-19 in Skagway on Friday. Local health officials suspect the virus has spread in the community.
Municipal officials are asking residents to shelter in place for at least a week.
Cody Jennings is a spokesperson for Skagway’s Emergency Operations Center. She said the Division of Public Health is tracing the close contacts of the positive cases.
“Obviously, there was a second case identified today, so we just want to make sure that we are very conscious going forward about mitigating any additional spread,” Jennings said.
Under a shelter in place, residents are asked to not gather in groups and stay home as much as possible except to work in a critical job or receive medical care.
Jennings said non-critical businesses must close to the public, and critical businesses that remain open must implement social distancing measures and require masks for patrons and employees.
“So for example, the grocery store is considered an essential business. Folks need to get in and get their groceries and what have you. The Skagway Bookstore—they’ve closed their doors to the public. They are offering curbside deliveries for newspapers and books and things. So they are able to stay open, but they must not allow public entry,” Jennings said.
Skagway’s Dahl Memorial Clinic has closed until Tuesday in order to test staff, communicate with the Division of Public Health, and disinfect the clinic. Municipal buildings have also closed and staff are working from home.
The Skagway School District has suspended in-person classes for the foreseeable future.
Administrators sent students home early and closed the school on Wednesday. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium tested the school’s staff for COVID-19.
The school will remain closed to staff until at least Tuesday morning. After that, teachers will return to the building to prepare distance learning alternatives while students remain at home.
