Alaska is in the red zone for COVID-19, But a lack of cases in the Upper Lynn Canal means its schools can stay open.

Alaskans received emergency SMS warnings from the state last week as Governor Mike Dunleavy tightened COVID-19 restrictions in response to its rapid spread. State employees are asked to work from home and the governor encouraged Alaskans to mask up.

Haines Borough Superintendent Roy Getchell says those warnings aren’t lost on the school.

“Definitely statewide there’s increasing concern. And we’re watching things with, I guess you could say much more concern from a local standpoint as we see what’s going on around us. So we were just trying to respond to the governor’s announcement and explain what that meant for us, which is business as usual. But we’re very concerned as we look at the landscape for sure,” Getchell said.

For now they are staying open, as is the Skagway School District. The Klukwan school is responding by limiting in-person classes to 3 days per week.

Alaska may be in the red zone, but there are no known active cases in Haines, Skagway, or Klukwan. 

School administrations aren’t relaxing, however. They’re keeping an eye on regional and statewide numbers. Getchell says there is no hard and fast threshold of case numbers in the state that would close the school, but statewide numbers do affect that decision.

“We’re looking at lots of factors. This is a factor,” he said.

“When you look at the transmission in Alaska and when you look at the decreased medical capacity, that’s another factor. That’s a real concern, and that it’s going to impact us as we make decisions moving forward for sure.”

Getchell says that if the school is forced to close he will give the community as much notice as he possibly can. 

The Haines school will be in session through December 18th this year. Students will return to school virtually on January 4th, 2021 and resume in-person classes January 11th.

The Skagway School District will take all of next week off in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. It will break for winter after December 18th and students will return to school January 11th.