As more cases of COVID-19 continue to be reported in Anchorage, city leaders are renewing a debate over whether the public should be required to wear face coverings to slow the spread of the virus.
At Tuesday night’s Assembly meeting, Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel plans to introduce a resolution calling on Mayor Ethan Berkowitz to use his emergency powers to mandate masks inside businesses and in other public settings where there is no social distancing in place.
Zaletel said you wouldn’t need everyone to comply to see the benefit. If 60% of people in Anchorage wore a mask when in public, it would have a huge benefit, she said.
“We don’t have to get it perfect, but we need to do it,” she said. “Masks are a tool to let us have an open economy and get Anchorage back to as close to normal as possible.”
Zaletel’s push comes as jurisdictions in the Lower 48 have started imposing mask mandates to slow spiking virus numbers as economies have opened up. Doctors and public health officials also say there’s growing scientific evidence to support their use — earlier this month, over 200 health care workers in Alaska sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy urging him to implement a mask mandate.
It’s unclear whether the majority of the Assembly will support Zaletel’s resolution. Zaletel has participated in two other efforts to get some version of a mask mandate passed in the last month or so, both of which failed.
Assemblyman Chris Constant said the Assembly has been down this path before. The body should leave emergency order decisions to the mayor, he said.
“We’ve already discharged this item twice in a month,” Constant said. “The body has twice told them to talk to the mayor. It just doesn’t seem right to continue bringing the same item up.”
During a Friday community briefing, Berkowitz said a mask mandate is on the table if cases continue to increase. Berkowitz said he had no immediate plans to issue the mandate and urged people to wear them voluntarily, but if a mandate was put in place, it would likely not extend to outdoor settings and be targeted toward activities where people are in close proximity.
Shortly after, the Anchorage Assembly held a public meeting to discuss face coverings, which included testimony from several local doctors who called for immediate action.
Dr. Monique Child said it’s important for the Assembly to act. She said at the grocery store in Anchorage, she sees fewer than 50% of shoppers wearing masks.
“I think we need to move, and move quickly,” Child said. “Because this is deadly, and our leaders on the Assembly are making a decision about whether or not their neighbors die.”
Assemblywoman Jamie Allard objected to Child’s words.
“That is something I think feeds into fear-mongering,” Allard said during the meeting. “It’s absolutely appalling to say this to anybody.”
In an interview Monday, Allard said she would not support a mask mandate. She said she’s been inundated with emails from her constituents in Chugiak and Eagle River, as well as Anchorage. They don’t support a mandate, she said.
“It’s my job as an assemblywoman to defend individual rights,” Allard said. “They can decide on their own. It’s just not the government’s job to mandate masks.”
Assemblyman John Weddleton also said he would not support the mandate. Weddleton said he believes people should wear masks and businesses should require them.
But he said the city trying to compel people to wear masks could be more problematic than enforcement of business closures, like what was instituted with the mayor’s “hunker down” emergency order in March. Also, he said, choice surrounding masks has become associated with the idea of liberty.
“I think we could get into a pretty horrible scenario,” he said. “That’s my fear.”
When asked about a mask mandate in the past, Berkowitz has responded by saying he doesn’t know how the city would enforce such a mandate.
Assemblywoman Austin Quinn-Davidson said Monday that she supports a mask mandate, but said the Assembly has already voted down two similar mandates. She said masks can be a tough topic for a politician to get behind.
“I think it’s becoming so political for folks that I think people are trying to stay away from that,” she said.
The idea of a mandate has drawn strong opposition from a number of Anchorage residents.
During the Assembly’s Friday public meeting, three members of the community participated and two were strongly opposed to a mask mandate.
One said he’s listened to both sides, but remains against the idea.
“I understand there are people who are at risk,” he said. “That’s great. There are people who are at risk for many, many ailments. They have the right to protect themselves as they see fit, but I think to impose this kind of measure on the public at large is just too much.”
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story said 200 doctors sent a letter to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, urging him to issue a mask mandate. It was signed by doctors and other health care workers, not just doctors.
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