City and Borough of Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon was the city’s 32nd case of COVID-19, according to a news release from the city.
Weldon has since recovered from the case, which was included in the state’s May 28 case count. The case is attributed to travel outside of Alaska, according to the city.
On May 14-17, Weldon traveled to help out a family member, according to the city.
She flew back to Juneau early on May 18 and immediately went to her home to quarantine for 14 days, as was required by state mandate. After a couple of days, Weldon began to feel mild symptoms.
“I was fatigued and I felt like I was coming down with a cold — a tickling in my nasal passage and a little irritation in my lungs,” she said in a release.
Following public health guidance, Weldon completed a PCR test for COVID-19 through a nasal pharyngeal swab.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Weldon said in a release. “There is a perception that the test is extremely painful, but it isn’t. If you have any symptoms at all, do not let the fear of pain stop you from getting tested. It takes about 20-30 seconds.”
She continued to stay home and participated in municipal meetings online, according to the city. Late last week, DHSS declared Weldon recovered, according to the city.
Weldon considers her case of COVID-19 to be fairly mild and decided to share her experience after consulting with Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink.
“The fatigue was true fatigue,” Weldon said. “I couldn’t be up for any length of time. I took lots of naps during the day and there was one day when I was pretty sick; I just did not feel good at all. But I never had a fever.
“Get tested even if you have the mildest of symptoms,” she continued. “because that’s exactly what I had — mild symptoms. I didn’t even have a runny nose.”
