Resolution Asking Mayor Bronson to Take Action on Public Health & Safety to be Introduced Tonight
Anchorage Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel will introduce a resolution at this evening's Anchorage Assembly meeting that would encourage Anchorage Mayor David Bronson to direct that masks or face coverings be required in public indoor areas of Municipal Buildings and to promote mitigation members when the Municipality of Anchorage is in "substantial risk" or "high alert" levels for community transmission of COVID-19.
On July 27, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their public health recommendations, given new evidence on the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, which is now the dominant variant circulating in Alaska and around the United States.
Recently, the Alaska State Hospital & Nursing Home Association and representatives from hospitals in Anchorage have expressed concerns about the capacity of Anchorage's local health care system to respond to rapid increases in COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations.
The lay it on the table item would also ask Mayor Bronson to implement the Anchorage Health Department’s recommendations to support telework when feasible, encourage front line workers to get tested for COVID-19 and when they're experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. The resolution would also permit employees to get tested and vaccinated during work time.
Mayor Bronson has vehemently opposed mandated mask-wearing. Today, Mayor Bronson wrote on Facebook that his views and positions on COVID-19 mandates were "very clear" and that his administration has "no intention on placing mandates on our businesses, mandates masking our residents, or mandates that require COVID-19 vaccinations."
Progressive assembly members have strongly supported COVID-19 mitigation measures, including mask-wearing, which would help keep the public safe and help protect Anchorage's fragile healthcare system. Last week, infectious disease doctors told the assembly that Anchorage's healthcare system was on the verge of "collapse" as hospitals continue to see an influx of COVID-19 patients and as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the Municipality.
