Posted by Robert Woolsey, KCAW | Feb 19, 2021 What exactly the end of Alaska’s disaster declaration means is uncertain: however, officials warn that the pandemic is far from over. Vaccinations, like those administered in Sitka, will be critical to reaching the 75-percent “herd” immunity needed to defeat COVID-19. (KCAW photo/Berett Wilber) Alaska’s Emergency Disaster Declaration for COVID-19 lapsed on Sunday (2-14-21) — but that hardly means the end of the statewide effort to combat the ongoing pandemic. The mandates issued by the governor’s office during the emergency are now considered recommendations, and orders are now alerts. “We really aren’t changing any of our recommendations out there,” said Fisher. “People wearing masks, continuing to social distance, asking people to get tested before they travel — or when they get back here to the state. So we’re going to keep that all in place. What will really change with the expiration of the emergency is, for example, the health orders that we have in place that require a molecular test for SARS-CoV-2 [editor’s note: a “PCR test”] prior to coming to the state — that requirement will turn into a recommendation in the interim until the emergency has expired. So we still are encouraging all travelers, all folks living here or visiting the state, to continue to participate in all of those things that we’ve been recommending for the past year.”