What criteria will be used to determine when in-house service can resume in restaurants and bars? If it is not very soon, we will impoverish a large number of fine service staff and lose a number of taxpaying businesses.
I understand the reason for the shutdown is to prevent the exponential growth in caseload and deaths that is typical of a pandemic. As of March, Alaska has 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases and no deaths. Unless we see a drastic increase in the caseload over the next couple of days and some deaths, it appears that we may well have dodged this pandemic. If so, we need to promptly resume local business.
Testing of out-of-state travelers might still be warranted, as caseloads are still growing rapidly in other states. Tracking the death toll across the United States is more important than the number of positive tests because we are still in catch-up mode for testing. However, we must execute a prompt end to each class of emergency measures in order to minimize damage to our economy.
— Donald N. Anderson
Anchorage
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