March 9, 2020 — Alaska’s major economic sectors are trying to find the best way to monitor and respond to the impact of the global spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus first documented in Wuhan, China, in December.
While China is a significant trade partner with Alaska, regardless of whether the virus shows up in Alaska, it could disrupt the state’s most significant financial drivers. With billions of dollars at stake, Alaska’s fishing, tourism, and oil and gas industries are in an awkward position between knowns and unknowns as they prep for how the virus will impact their businesses.
The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is staying ready with round-the-clock mopping, wiping, and scrubbing.
“Our materials and our methods that we use here are designed to stop the spread of communicable disease in the airport. Whether it’s coronavirus or influenza or rotavirus or norovirus — all of those — we are always trying to keep the airport clean and safe,” airport manager Jim Szczesniak told KTUU.
The cleaning work is an investment in keeping goods and people moving through the airport, a global hub. Eighty percent of all air cargo from Asia to North America stops at the airport, and just under six million people pass through its terminals each year, many over the summer.
Vacationers bring about $4.5 billion into Alaska each year.
Among them: 1.4 million cruise ship passengers.