Amid spiking coronavirus cases in the scenic city on Resurrection Bay, Seward chamber of commerce officials on Monday canceled Fourth of July events this coming weekend.
The cancellation includes fireworks and vendors in addition to the already canceled Mount Marathon Race and parade. The events annually draw thousands of visitors from a wide part of the state, tripling Seward’s 2,750 year-round population.
As of Monday, 18 Seward residents had tested positive for COVID-19, including eight new on Sunday, after an outbreak began there late last week, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services COVID-19 dashboard. Another 3 cases were reported in nonresidents there, including two new cases Sunday.
The city last week advised anyone who had visited the Seward Alehouse and Yukon Bar earlier in the week they should be tested for the virus. A Seward Alehouse employee tested positive for COVID-19 and the restaurant posted it would close for cleaning and to monitor employee health. Hundreds of tests were performed over the weekend.
Many restaurants and bars downtown were closed Monday and numerous people were waiting to get tested, according to Kat Sorensen, a chamber spokeswoman.
Sorensen said she hoped no one was planning any kind of alternative activities to make up for the loss of the annual festivities.
“We are at the precipice of our COVID outbreak,” she said Monday.
The Seward Chamber of Commerce had originally hoped to proceed with the holiday events using mitigation measures such as social distancing, face coverings handed out to participants, hand sanitizer stations and street closures to give people more room to spread out.
But the chamber, in collaboration with the city of Seward, state and local health care providers, and the chamber board and members decided instead to cancel given the recent and dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases there, according to a statement issued Monday.
“We’re seeing cases across businesses and in different sectors,” Sorensen said. “At this point, if our downtown is closed due to coronavirus concerns, there’s no reason we should be inviting visitors to our town.”
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