People traveling to King Salmon and Naknek will be prohibited from visiting public spaces. The Borough Police Department will be enforcing the quarantine and six-foot social distancing.
The Bristol Bay Borough Assembly passed an ordinance this week mandating a 14-day self-quarantine for *anyone* travelling into King Salmon and Naknek.
The assembly specified that people coming in must go straight to their designated quarantine location. That means no extra stops to any public facilities. Assembly member Mary Swain says the borough will assist essential workers if quarantining is an issue.
“If someone has an extenuating circumstance that can’t do that 14 days, to have a conversation with the manager – incident commander – to determine if that person has enough safeguards in place to come do their work and leave,” Swain said.
Borough Manager Gregg Brelsford said that decision will be made after they convene with the finance committee or at least two members of the assembly. Brelsford also granted the borough police department permission to enforce the quarantine and six-foot social distancing.
Basically, when someone is reported the police officer calls that person, explains to them what the mandate is and what is required," Brelsford said. "They educate them about what their noncompliance is and asks them to comply.”
If someone refuses to comply, they could face a fine of up to $25,000 and a year in jail. The ordinance went into effect Wednesday and will be enforced until midnight May 5, when the borough will re-evaluate the restriction.
The borough is also working to adopt their own version of Dillingham’s essential air travel permitting system. It requires anyone entering Dillingham to apply for a permit from the city. Once the borough completes their version, they will make an announcement.
Contact the author at tyler@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200
