Dunleavy needs to deal with biggest question on pandemic

There is one big question that should be dealt with at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s coronavirus press conferences instead of the distracting and repetitious talking points about how we are all Alaskans, we’re going to get through this and we’ll be stronger than ever.

“What can Alaska do right now to prevent becoming New York in 1 week and Italy in 2-3 weeks?”

The sense of urgency inherent in that question needs to be communicated to every Alaskan.

But it’s not just a question for government officials. It is incumbent on all Alaskans to prevent the spread of the disease by keeping away from other people as much as possible, practicing good hygiene and keeping employees as safe as possible.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that any step that keeps a hospital bed vacant could mean the difference between life and death for a family member, friend or neighbor. The health crisis is here. It won’t take much for the system to be overloaded.

The time delay from when a person is infected until the moment that symptoms appear has given far too many of us a false sense of security and put lives at risk.

The letter sent to Dunleavy over the weekend by hundreds of Alaska doctors asking for a travel ban and a stay-in-place order expressed serious worries about what lies ahead: “Our medical resources are finite and we are potentially a week away from New York and 2-3 weeks from Italy,” they said.

Dunleavy has rejected a travel ban, but implemented a halfway step that requires anyone flying in from Outside to be self-quarantined for two weeks.

We need to hear from Dunleavy on the ventilator situation and what the plan is if and when hospitals become overrun. We need to know how patients in remote areas with limited health facilities will be handled. We need to know about the status of the state labs the processing of tests. We need to hear about the contingency plans.

We need to know about shortages of medical equipment and why he, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan aren’t pressing President Trump for federal help.

No one wants to see health facilities become so overwhelmed that doctors and nurses find it impossible to provide adequate care to patients. Alaskans need to know that everything that can be done to avoid that dire situation is taking place.

The doctors did not ask Dunleavy for an order to keep everyone inside at all times, though that was the spin he chose to put on it at a press conference Tuesday.

He said that he didn’t want to implement “extraordinary restrictions” that may work in other countries, but are not appropriate for America.

“You can put restrictions in place, but individual Alaskans have got to take this seriously, not in a panic, but they can’t be lackadaisical about it,” he said.

“We believe at this point today, as we’re speaking, it’s better to implement distancing with fidelity,” he said.

At the close of the Tuesday press conference, a reporter asked Dunleavy about the court complaint filed that day by state employees who say the administration is not taking their concerns seriously about limiting exposure to the coronavirus. A lot of state workers are in close quarters during working hours and there are many who say they should be working from home and have been blocked from doing so.

In responding to this question, Dunleavy didn’t say he has ordered state employees to work from home if at all possible. He didn’t say anything about an overall plan to get state workers out of state offices to lower the risk of becoming infected with the disease. If state workers fall ill, it will be that much harder to keep government services operating during this crisis.

Asked about the complaint, Dunleavy said:

“We do have a situation in which we have employees that are working from home. They’re having a conversation with their supervisors and for those folks that can work at home, that’s happening,” he said.

“Those of us that are teleworking are doing it, those of us that are in a category that we may be in that vulnerable category, they’re having discussions with their supervisors. So there’s a process that’s happening now in the state office buildings,” he said.

When the reporter tried to ask a followup question she was cut off by the governor’s staff. The refusal to allow followup questions is a tactic that Dunleavy should abandon. He should stick around for an extra 15 minutes if that’s what it takes.

Regarding state employees, his answer was not that of someone who has made it a priority to get staff members working at home as soon as possible. It was the answer of someone who has delegated the responsibility to an endless number of supervisors, leading to endless conversations and discussions and no clear policy.

There should be a directive from the governor to commissioners, instructing them to allow state employees to work at home if possible, following the recommendations that apply to everyone else. That would have the added benefit of reducing the number of people in offices, reducing the chance of becoming sick and unable to work.