This purposeful lapse “to focus on recovery” is as good a reason as the many, many others to recall Dunleavy. He’s shutting down a major tool that helped us to slow the spread at a time we can very quickly speed the spread again. We are NOT out of a state of emergency. Not even close.
He’s also doing this while publicly sharing they don’t have a plan yet but they “will be” sharing it. How about waiting until you do have a plan to shut down the one we have? Why weren’t you already operating a plan that would mean a swift transition instead of the chaos people/organizations are going through now trying to figure out what this means?
In the meantime, we can’t “recover” when new/continued challenges are being thrown at the state because of COVID. State vaccine distribution is still pretty messy, we still don’t know how transmission works with vaccines and a whole lot of Alaskans will not be getting the vaccine no matter what.
The new variants WILL BE COMING HERE (if they’re not already,) and they will do so via travel. But we are shutting down the strongest means of catching that now. Before it hits us. Not to mention lower numbers here mean travel is the most likely way our numbers will be going up again, and we’re just cutting off our knees to a response.
We know lack of tourism dollars this year will be devastating to countless small businesses, and yet we’re already making it more difficult for them without an emergency declared. Many of them have not reached the worst that will come due to COVID.
We are also learning daily what new resources, changing resources, and new/altered problems are coming due to the HUGE change of federal administration. We literally don’t know much of what we’re cutting ourselves off from yet.
The average Alaskan tends to associate the state emergency declaration with masks, generally municipal mandates, but the state is more impacted by the funding, speed of reaction, and ability to cut through copious red tape when in a state of emergency. Dunleavy claims to like small government but this almost guarantees help will be hindered and reaction time gets much slower – because of the government.
I will say, in this case the lapse was a team effort between the governor and the legislature. But Dunleavy has always had this power, and can declare this immediately.
The screen shots are from the initial March declaration and the most recent emergency declaration. Ask yourselves how many of the reasons and actions still apply to our state. They are very good reasons, with very needed resources – THAT INCLUDE RECOVERY.
EDIT – ACTIONS THAT YOU CAN DO:
- Email/call your state legislators and the governor urging both an emergency declaration and a better COVID plan.
- Sign the Recall Dunleavy petition.
- Continue behaving as if the emergency declaration is in place for travel, COVID measures, as well as acting BETTER than the state has mandated – masking, social distancing, etc.
- Get your vaccine as soon as you can.
- Shop and/or promote at small businesses impacted by tourism.
What are some others?
