(Anchorage, AK) – Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy Tuesday announced plans for Phase Three of the State’s approach to reopening segments of the Alaskan economy in an effort to balance the ongoing need to slow the spread of COVID-19 with the critical need to resume economic activity in a reasonable and safe manner.

Beginning 8:00am Friday, May 22, 2020, Phase Three of the Reopen Alaska Responsibly Plan will take effect, allowing all businesses to open at 100 percent capacity.

• All businesses may open
• All houses of worship and religious gatherings may open
• All libraries and museums may open
• All recreational activities may open
• All sport activities may open

“Alaska has done an excellent job of managing COVID-19. We responded quickly to an unknown threat to keep our cases low and to ensure our healthcare systems have increased capacity to deal with COVID-19 cases in the future. Under Phases One and Two, businesses and organizations found new and creative ways to minimize the risk of COVID-19, and each day we are seeing new national and industry guidelines being released that provide guidance on safely operating. Now is the time for the next phase of our response. To move ahead, we are combining our future phases, while encouraging personal and organizational responsibility to safely operate while mitigating the spread of this disease,” said Governor Dunleavy. “Make no mistake. The virus is with us. We must function with it and manage it. There will be folks who contract the virus and fall ill, but if we follow these guidelines, we can help lower potential cases and keep our way of life intact with a few exceptions. We will monitor the situation daily as we have since this virus arrived in Alaska and we will adjust, if necessary, to handle a growth in case clusters to prevent cases spiking. It’s because of you Alaska, that our statewide numbers remain low. And we will keep our numbers low because of your actions”

Alaskans are encouraged to continue to follow health and hygiene protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including: stay six feet apart from non-household members; wash hands frequently; sanitize and clean high touch surfaces frequently; stay home if you are sick, and get tested for COVID-19 if you have symptoms; wear a face covering in public places when near others; and be mindful and respectful to those Alaskans that are most vulnerable to this virus, including Alaska’s senior population and those with existing health conditions.

The following guidance remains in effect:

• Health Mandate 10 on International and Interstate Travel – Order for Self-Quarantine
• Health Mandate 13 on K-12 Public and Private Schools
• Health Mandate 14 on Non-Congregate Sheltering Order
• Health Mandate 15 on Services by Health Care Providers
• Health Mandate 17 on Protective Measures for Independent Commercial Fishing Vessels
• Health Mandate 18 on Intrastate Travel
• The State will continue to work with large industries to protect their workforce and the communities in which they operate.
• Limited visitation access to senior centers, prisons, and institutions.

Official guidance will be available on May 21, 2020 at https://covid19.alaska.gov/reopen/.

The Governor’s COVID-19 Health Mandates can be found here.

For the latest information on Alaska’s response to COVID-19, please visit https://covid19.alaska.gov/  

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