Print article At least 15 people listed a banquet attended by Alaska’s governor and multiple state legislators last month as a possible source of their COVID-19 infection, a state health department spokesman said. The Alaska Outdoor Council banquet on Feb. 20 in Palmer was attended by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and state Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok. Both tested positive for COVID-19 days later, on Feb. 24, though it’s not clear whether either of them became infected at the event. At least five other state legislators and Anchorage mayoral candidate Bill Evans were also in attendance. “As commonly occurs with COVID-19 outbreaks linked to a single venue, when it became known that multiple people who attended the banquet had tested positive, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services personnel alerted Alaska Outdoor Council leadership,” Clinton Bennett, a spokesman for the state health department, wrote in an email Saturday.
Print article JUNEAU Five people have tested positive for COVID-19 within the Alaska Capitol since Wednesday and 20 have been quarantined, but Alaska lawmakers on Monday said they intend for the Legislature to continue its work on schedule. Tok Republican Rep. Mike Cronk tested positive last week, and two of Cronk’s aides tested positive on Sunday. Two additional positive cases have also been reported, one identified Monday morning and another over the weekend, according to Jessica Geary, executive director of the Legislative Affairs Agency, the nonpartisan organization that operates the Capitol complex on behalf of the Legislature. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy also tested positive on Wednesday.