Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Operations issued the following announcement on March 17.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – City of Fairbanks COVID19 Updated Recommendations
MEDIA CONTACT: Teal Soden, Communications Director, tsoden@fairbanks.us
The City of Fairbanks has made the following changes over the past week with regards to operations at City departments:
-We are currently urging residents to use our online and over-the-phone options for making garbage and citation payments. The fee for over-the-phone payments has been suspended.
-Our Fire Department is closed to all non-essential foot traffic. Ride-alongs and tours have been suspended until further notice.
-Fairbanks Police has suspended all ride-alongs and building tours. Residents are encouraged to file police reports online using Police2Citizen option as much as possible. If unsure whether you can file your report online, you can call 907-450-6500 for information.
-City employees returning from out-of-state will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to work. All work travel for City employees has been canceled through 4/15/20.
-Public meetings and events (except for the City Council meeting on 3/30/20) at City Hall have been canceled until 3/31/2020.
Mayor Matherly would also like to echo the recommendations made by the CDC and other agencies relating to overall public health in response to the COVID19 pandemic. Those recommendations include:
-Practice social distancing to avoid the spread of the virus. This includes not meeting in large groups and maintaining a distance of six feet apart from other people.
-Encouraging restaurant owners to stop providing self-serve salad bars and buffets.
-Practice self-quarantine if you have been exposed to COVID19 or are considered high risk.
-If your insurance or healthcare provider offers telemedicine, take advantage of it as much as possible as an alternative to going to the doctor’s office.
-Continue using common-sense measures to protect yourself and others, including practicing good hygiene and keeping your homes and workplaces clean.
The City administration has received many inquiries as to whether the City of Fairbanks will follow the example of the Municipality of Anchorage regarding the restrictions on restaurants and bars. At this time, Mayor Matherly is not issuing any mandates regarding restaurants and bars in the city of Fairbanks. A mandate like that would disproportionately impact restaurants inside city limits. The authority to close all restaurants in the Fairbanks North Star Borough lies with the State of Alaska.
We will continue to post any updates on our City of Fairbanks webpage (www.fairbanksalaska.us) and on the City of Fairbanks Facebook page.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Operations
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