A recent Vox report examined a community in rural Alaska preparing for the arrival of COVID-19. Fairbanks, Alaska is geographically isolated to a remote island. Its physical remoteness may be both a strength and a serious vulnerability. Elise Pletnikoff, a family physician and the e Kodiak Area Native Association’s medical doctor, says that the island’s inaccessibility may keep its population safer for longer, but it will hamper the response efforts if COVID-19 does turn up.

Compounding the problem is the island’s lack of personal protective equipment, ventilators and most importantly test kits. While projections showed COVID-19 having less severe impacts in rural areas in terms of case numbers, the overall impact could be far greater in places without the capacity to handle an influx of cases.

Read the full article from Vox here: https://www.vox.com/2020/3/28/21197421/usa-coronavirus-covid-19-rural-america