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After a period when COVID-19 restrictions halted the spread of other respiratory diseases, Alaska had a big increase in influenza cases, state data shows. The overall influenza case load during the 2022-23 season was much higher than in prior years, reports a new bulletin issued by the epidemiology section of the Alaska Division of Public Health. Most notably, cases spiked much earlier in the season, in November and December, before dropping. There were five influenza deaths over the season, all among adults, according to the bulletin, the late... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously passed an ordinance that will raise the amount that sewer utility rates will increase by in FY24 during its June 5 meeting. In May 2022, the assembly voted to increase sewer utility rates by 3% annually from FY23-FY26, but this new ordinance will double the planned rate increase in FY24, raising rates for one year by 6%. According to an annual rate review of the utility, the 6% raise is needed to keep up with increased costs and expenses to the...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to appoint 14 people to the Housing Task Force during Monday's meeting. Members of the task force include Gary Aulbach, Jay Barnard, Annette Bennett, Joyce Cummings, Darcie Ewert, Larry Hofstad, Sarah Holmgrain, Ashley Kawashima, David Kensinger, Malena Marvin, Jeff Meucci, Erin Michael, Jalyn Pomrenke, and Jeigh Stanton Gregor. The assembly also chose Stanton Gregor to act as the group's facilitator after a unanimous vote. The group was...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly voted unanimously to pass Ordinance #2022-11 in its third and final reading during Tuesday’s meeting, allowing for increases to the purchasing authorization limits of borough officials. The ordinance now gives the borough manager the authority to set the spending limits for individual department heads. It also increases the borough manager’s purchasing authorization limit, allowing the borough manager to authorize purchases costing more than a department head’s limit but less than $75,000. Previously depar...
WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday signed off on the approval from the agency’s independent vaccine advisers that recommended an updated coronavirus vaccine booster this fall. The CDC recommended boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for those who are 12 years old and older and from Moderna for those who are 18 and older. These are known as “bivalent” vaccines because they are formulated to protect against the original coronavirus strain as well as the omicron variant, which is highly contagious. “Updated COVID-19...
Second COVID-19 vaccine booster doses are available in Petersburg and are primarily being administered at Public Health according to Petersburg Medical Center Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Bryner. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine last month for those aged 50 or older and for immunocompromised individuals who received their first booster shot at least four months earlier. Though Public Health has taken the primary role of...
Cultural Richness of Petersburg To the Editor: Petersburg’s inaugural Séet Ká Festival happens February 10-16. This is such an exciting thing to see! It’s an incredible opportunity to learn about the Tlingit culture that has been present on these lands for thousands of years and will be for thousands more. Whether they are new to you or deep in your blood, Tlingit social and artistic practices are available to you in person or by Zoom during this festival. Take full advantage! Like so many of you I had the benefit of being born and raised in Pe...
As of Tuesday night, the Petersburg Medical Center's COVID-19 Dashboard reported 10 active cases in Petersburg with 16 new cases in the previous seven days. The Petersburg School District recorded seven total cases among staff and students Wednesday afternoon. Rae C. Stedman Elementary School numbered the most with five followed by one at Mitkof Middle School and one at Petersburg High School. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the state recorded 4,147 new cases...
The Petersburg School Board held a work session Tuesday night to discuss potential changes to the district's COVID-19 mitigation protocols before its next regular meeting. While no action was taken at the over two-and-a-half-hour work session, it gave the board members an opportunity to prepare for action at the next board meeting and hear from experts about current guidelines and the state of the pandemic. The work session was originally scheduled for January 4 but was postponed due to flight...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board heard an update from PMC leadership on how COVID-19 continues to affect hospital operations and PMC's expectation for future outbreaks during its meeting on December 30. Petersburg saw its highest number of active COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in November, peaking with 97. There were also two COVID-19 related medevacs in the past two months according to Infection Prevention and Quality Manager Liz Bacom who said the hospital is much b...
January The assembly approved of a COVID-19 dashboard which tracked cases in the community. Local businesses received a total of $15.08 million in aid in the first round of COVID-19 aid released through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PMC vaccinated approximately 350 residents aged 65 or older at a vaccine drive in the community gym. PMC was given permission by the borough to apply for a second PPP loan totaling $1.8 million. PMC applied and received a loan of...
The Petersburg Medical Center' COVID-19 Dashboard reported four active cases as of Monday, the last time the dashboard was updated, with 18 tests results pending. PMC moved to yellow status on Monday as a result of the decrease in cases and continues to encourage physical distancing, masking, and other mitigation measures. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 347 new cases from December 13 to December 14 in the state, along with two deaths and 12 new resident...
The Petersburg School Board held a discussion on the district's current COVID-19 protocols during Tuesday's meeting and agreed to hold a work session on potential changes in January. The district has required universal masking for the majority of the year due to continued COVID-19 outbreaks both in the district and in the community. The district began the school year with two weeks of universal masking as part of its reopening plan and the board later amended the plan during its September...
The active COVID-19 cases count fell to five on Thursday with two positives in the previous seven days and 11 tests pending results according to the Petersburg Medical Center’s COVID-19 Dashboard. Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 441 new cases from December 6-7 in the state and three deaths. According to the DHSS, 56% of Alaskans aged five or older are fully vaccinated while 63% of residents in Petersburg Borough are fully vaccinated. The Petersburg School District r...
Fearful from what if possibilities To the Editor: I have been wondering for quite a few years now but especially these last 2. When did we as a country become so hysterical, fearful from what if possibilities. Tobacco, global warming, nuclear power, acid rain, mining, logging. The list is long of things that are going to end the world. Now the latest SARS covid-19. A nuclear power plant is destroyed in Japan and the Pacific Ocean is doomed. A mine tailings dam is breached and the river is going to die. Both of these of course never happened. So...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported a declining number of cases this week with with only 27 active cases of COVID-19 and 43 tests pending results. According to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard, PMC has recorded a 9.4% positivity rate over the last seven days, and, as of Wednesday evening, there are no longer any healthcare workers currently infected. Although the PMC staffing level are still classified as inadequate and the hospital's medevac capability remains limited. "While this is very...
Thank you To the Editor: A heartfelt thank you to our EMTs, doctors, and hospital staff for all their kindness. Geneva Bishop and Family My turn To the Editor: A half century ago on Nov. 2, 1971, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I served on two different duty stations, Naval Air Station Moffett Field, and the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Robison (DDG-12). During my tour on the ‘Rockin’ Robie,’ I stood numerous in-port quarterdeck watches throughout various Pacific ports, and countless watches on the bridge in the Navigation Division while...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 10 additional cases of COVID-19 Tuesday for a total of 68 active cases. According to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard, there have been seven healthcare worker infections and PMC inpatient utilization is at 50%. The PMC staffing level is currently labeled as inadequate and the hospital's medevac capability is limited. The Petersburg School District, which is not currently in session because of Thanksgiving, reported 21 cases among staff and students in the...
The Borough Assembly passed Ordinance #2021-20 during Wednesday's meeting which amended the previous emergency masking ordinance brought about by the increase of COVID-19 cases in Petersburg. The language of the new ordinance was heavily changed during its discussion so that it would not require businesses to deny admittance to offenders of the ordinance and would not introduce a fine structure for violators. The new ordinance only added a requirement for masking in communal spaces such as...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 21 additional cases of COVID-19 Wednesday for a total of 84 active cases. 19 cases were cleared by Public Health and 65 new cases have been reported in the past week. Currently Petersburg Borough has the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 in the United States of America, with an averaged daily rate of 262 new infections per 100,000. This is according to the New York Times hot spots map, which displays a county-by-county average of new reported cases over...
COVID-19 cases continue to rise, impacting the Petersburg Medical Center's staff and operations as the hospital approaches its breaking point. As cases go up, work effort and stress levels among hospital staff increase as they battle the virus. "...this spike ... is impacting practically every component of the community, and there's one, two, and three degrees of separation with each other, so it affects our staff, daycare, kids," PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter said. When a staff member is affected by...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total active cases to 79, the most Petersburg has seen since the beginning of the pandemic. 64 new positives were reported in the past week. Community spread is escalating rapidly according to PMC which is asking people to follow mitigation recommendations. PMC remains in red status and though they will attempt to keep all appointments, they warned that they may experience limitations or rescheduling...
The Petersburg Medical Center Hospital Board met Thursday to discuss the latest COVID-19 outbreak attributed to the delta variant and its effects on the community. PMC CEO Phil Hofstetter presented a graph highlighting the two highest spikes in COVID-19 cases in Petersburg since September of 2020. The first spike occurred near the end of February and beginning of March 2020, shortly after Alaska's emergency declaration expired, and peaked at just under 70 cases. The second spike occurred near...
The active COVID-19 case count in Petersburg rose to 11 Wednesday according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. The count is up from the five reported on October 20 with six new positives in the last seven days. According to the dashboard, the risk level to both the Petersburg School District and the Petersburg Medical Center is moderate. The school district has continue to enforce universal masking and contact tracing is underway. 67.38% of Petersburg Borough residents are fully vaccinated...
The Petersburg Medical Center reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, one of the highest recorded in a single day, bringing the total active case count to 30. Community spread is occurring and PMC is asking people to follow mitigation recommendations. 28 of the 30 cases were identified within the past seven days according to the Petersburg COVID-19 Dashboard. 67.6% of Petersburg Borough residents are fully vaccinated according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Vaccine... Full story
