News

The Dillingham City Council held a special meeting via teleconference on March 26. City council members and residents discussed travel restrictions and community preparedness in light of the coronavirus. 

Some businesses in Dillingham have shut down or made adjustments as local, state and federal mandates were passed down this month.

This week, we covered teleconferences from Dillingham to Bristol Bay Borough, as both local governments prepare for a potential spread of the coronavirus. No cases have been confirmed in Bristol Bay. Dillingham business owners shared how they are coping with closures and changes to operations. Villages around Bristol Bay are shutting down travel and school districts share updates to academic calendars. 

In a special meeting by the Bristol Bay Borough, assembly members declared a local emergency response to recieve funding from state and federal government. Community members phoned in to share thoughts about the upcoming salmon fish season.

Alethia Belleque has been studying abroad in Peru since August. She was planning to stay until June, but the coronavirus pandemic changed that. Peru shut its borders to commercial flights in and out of the country. Now, her family is trying to get her back to Alaska. 

With Head Start programs across the state shutting down, over 3,000 kids are not receiving any in class services. The Bristol Bay Native Association’s Head Start program is taking precautions due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus. 

We are practicing social distancing while working to keep everyone up to date on the coronavirus. Alaska is now up to 12 cases. People from Bristol Bay have been tested, but the results are pending.

Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation is putting extra measures into place to prepare for coronavirus, modifying and adapting their normal practices in communities around the region. 

"Knowing that it’s the last time everyone is going to be able to watch us — we fought hard," said Captain Abby Whitcomb, a senior, about the team's last game in front of a crowd. Whitcomb's last season of high school basketball ended suddenly, as ASAA cancelled the state tournament amid coronavirus concerns.