COVID-19 information and updates

By tourtigerdevel on Mar 15, 2020

What You Should Know About Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

We’ve made some changes to our winter reindeer walks.

11/3

State of Alaska eases travel restrictions for non-resident travelers to Alaska

Effective October 16, the State of Alaska has eased travel restrictions for non-resident travelers to Alaska.

The revision to Health Mandate 10.1(opens in a new tab) shortens the amount of time non-resident travelers must observe strict social distancing while arriving in Alaska, from two weeks to five days. The strict social distancing for five days is required of all visitors to Alaska even if they arrive with a negative test. According to the State of Alaska, strict social distancing is defined as follows:

You may be in an outdoor public place, but you must remain six feet away from anyone not in your immediate household, and you must wear a face covering. You may arrange curbside shopping or have food delivery.
You cannot enter restaurants, bars, gyms, community centers, sporting facilities (i.e., ice rinks, gymnasiums, and sports domes), office buildings, and school or daycare facilities. Do not participate in any group activities, including sporting events and practices, weddings, funerals, or other gatherings.

The mandate also no longer requires non-resident visitors to take a second test if they are going to be in the state for seven to 14 days; that second test is now optional with the recommendation that it be taken if they are going to be in the state for five to 14 days. The second test continues to be free provided that the traveler arrives with a negative test or purchases a test at the airport.

More information here.

Winter Visitors

We will be outside the full tour as long as COVID 19 is still an issue. Please dress appropriately.

Alaska Element – 907-388-5542 rents out cold weather gear.

Effective August 11, 2020, non-residents traveling to Alaska must arrive with proof of a negative molecular based COVID-19 test, or proof of a pending result of that test. The test must have been taken within 72 hours of departure to Alaska. Travelers awaiting results must self-quarantine at their own expense until they receive negative results.

Visitors must fill out their Travel Declaration Form(opens in a new tab) and attach their COVID test information to the Alaska Travel Portal at www.alaska.covidsecureapp.com(opens in a new tab) prior to travel.

8/3

New Interstate Travel Protocols to begin on August 11

Governor Mike Dunleavy announced on July 28 that starting August 11 all non-residents must arrive with a negative COVID-19 PCR taken within 72 hours prior to departure. A non-resident will no longer be able to take a test when they arrive at the airport and will not have the option of self-quarantining for 14-days upon arrival. The governor stated that the state is working through enforcement issues which will be announced later. Through August 10, the current protocols will remain in place.

If a potential traveler is unable to get a test from their local health care provider, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has listed four FDA-authorized home-collection COVID tests for people who want to take a test at home and mail it to a company to get results. Those companies are:

Of those four tests, Pixel and Everlywell both require that the person requesting the test meet certain criteria in the online questionnaire, such as exhibiting some type of COVID-19 symptoms; had potential, suspected or known exposure to COVID-19; or fit the definition of being at risk for COVID-19. Pixel requires no upfront costs; they will bill insurance or, if do not have insurance, they will pay through public funds. Prices for the other three range from $109 to $150.

The above COVID-19 traveler information can be found at https://covid19.alaska.gov/travelers/(opens in a new tab)

Updated 7/31 from Explore Fairbanks

Remember, Masks are required!

Unless we have extreme weather you will be outside for the tour. Please dress appropriately and prepared for mosquitos.

Please respect people’s social distance needs, we have acres of space.

July 3

We are Open!

Check the schedule for availability here(opens in a new tab).

We have a new activity for June. Check out our Ranch Visit(opens in a new tab).

The guidelines below still apply.

We have a new health-related guideline, it is to keep our reindeer safe and healthy and has nothing to do with COVID 19:
If you have been in contact with goats or sheep in the last three weeks, please contact Running Reindeer Ranch.

June 1

We’re Opening

But we have a few rules.

For the safety of our guests, staff, and reindeer:

You must be following the current Alaska Governor’s Travel Mandates, you can find them here(opens in a new tab).
Reservations and payment must be completed online. No drop-ins.
Groups will be smaller
Respect six feet of personal space.
You must wear a mask at all times.
Use of hand sanitizer will be required when arriving, after signing the liability waiver, and when entering and exiting the reindeer pen.
You will not be allowed to join the tour if you show signs of illness.
If you are a household unit of more than ten, we can accommodate private tours.

May 21

Traveling to Alaska

The State of Alaska has instituted a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all incoming passengers. Running Reindeer Ranch will not permit guests who are not following this mandate.

You can find the quarantine form here.

May 11

Cancelation Policy Change

We’ve have honored our policy and issued tens of thousands of dollars worth of refunds, so we have modified our cancelation policy for future tours.

Policy Change for any reservations made after April 26
We know travel plans change and sometimes it’s necessary to cancel them. That’s why you may cancel your reservation for a full credit, to be used at a future date if you notify us 48 hours before your scheduled tour.

The complete policy can be found here.

April 26

We’re still closed. As with most small businesses, it’s been tough but we’re hanging in there hoping for the ability to reopen in some manner soon. We were lucky to get a Payroll Protection Program grant/loan so we can maintain staff. There is plenty of work in the spring as the reindeer calve(opens in a new tab), the snow melts and gardens need to be planted.

With travel restrictions and cruise cancelations, we have issued about $50,000 in refunds for canceled trips. If you are planning a trip this summer or rescheduling for next summer, we can offer you credit, or if you’d like to help out, we do offer gift cards(opens in a new tab). Watch our Facebook page (opens in a new tab)for other virtual opportunities.

Stay safe, stay well and we’ll see you soon.

April 19

We are sad to announce that as of Thursday, March 19, we will be closed until the end of May or until we can safely reopen. The health and safety of our staff and guests are our primary concern, and we felt we had no other options. Any cancelations will be fully refunded. More soon…

March 19, 2020

At Running Reindeer Ranch the health and safety of our guests and staff is our top priority.

As we all know, COVID-19 information and updates are changing rapidly. Please know that we are monitoring the situation and will follow the lead of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)(opens in a new tab) and local authorities as far as limiting the spread of the virus.

Some things we are doing:

We are encouraging you and our guides to stay home if sick.
We are encouraging you to practice proper respiratory etiquette and hand washing.
We are limiting the size and number of tours offered.
We are not providing extra cold-weather gear, please bring your own cold-weather gear.
We are spending all of our tour outside to allow for social distancing, so please dress appropriately (snow pants, hats, gloves, boots, it’s Alaska!)
We are practicing recommended environmental cleaning and disinfection guidelines.
We are reducing our April schedule.

If you need to cancel a tour, we offer a full refund per our cancelation policy (if requested before 48 hours of the tour(opens in a new tab)). Just email us(opens in a new tab) your name and tour date.

(It may take up to a week for your refund to be processed, sorry for the inconvenience)

Small businesses, particularly those in tourism and hospitality, are being hit hard at this unprecedented difficult time. We cannot thank you enough for your continued patience, understanding, and business.

If you’re stuck at home bake yourself a batch of our famous cookies and think of us.

Please stay in contact through our Facebook page (you’ll be the first to know when our calves are born).

Stay well, stay safe and we hope to see you at the Ranch,

Jane, Doug and the Staff and Reindeer

For current information about the COVID-19 outbreak, visit the following websites:

U. S. Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Situation Summary(opens in a new tab)

U.S. Centers for Disease Control Travel Guidance(opens in a new tab)

U.S. Centers for Disease Control (opens in a new tab)

State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Human Coronaviruses(opens in a new tab)

State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services What can Alaskans do to prepare for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)?(opens in a new tab)

U.S. Travel Preparedness and Response Toolkit(opens in a new tab)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Resources and Guidelines for Business(opens in a new tab)