SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento resident Angela Hagerty has been planning her bi-annual fishing trip to Alaska for a year and a half.
"You have to plan early for Alaska, because they only have so many vehicles, so many fishing guides," Hagerty said.
Plus, this year she's going with a larger party. What was originally a solo trip has taken on new members, necessitating even more planning and coordination.
Hagerty has been taking this trip every even-numbered year since 2006, which is why when the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, she was determined to make sure her and her party maintained every safety guideline and restriction when it came to travel.
She has weeks before her flight, yet it will all come down to the last 72 hours.
In order to travel to Alaska, a traveler must receive the COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their flight and be able to give proof of a negative result. This gives the traveler a three day window to get a test and get the results back.
Hagerty's group is more than prepared to take any step necessary. Travelers to Alaska have to take a second COVID-19 test 7 to 14 days after arrival, and this they have coordinated.
However, it's that first, 72-hour test that has caused the most difficulty.
"At least one of the individuals, even though he's a higher risk individual, his physician is saying he will not provide him the authority to get a COVID exam because he doesn't have any symptoms," Hagerty said.
In order to combat the inevitable influx of people trying to get a coronavirus test, hospitals allow doctors the discretion to authorize which patients can receive tests.
Since speaking to ABC10, Hagerty confirmed that her doctor would clear her for the test and send the test to Quest, which is taking approximately 3-5 businesses days with results.
As for the traveler in Hagerty's group that was previously denied, Hagerty says he is planning to do something a little drastic.
"He is going to change doctors, probably to mine, so that he can be cleared for our trip," Hagerty said.
To be clear, Alaska's travel requirement, and other state restrictions like it, doesn't mean a traveler will be barred from getting on the plane. The right to travel between states in the U.S. is protected by the constitution.
California is all too familiar with the right to travel domestically when it tried to prevent the migration of Okies, Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma and the Plains. In a pandemic, though, public health is considered more important.
Without taking a test and providing proof, a self-quarantine for 14 days is required. Or a traveler can receive a test upon arrival and self-quarantine until results arrive.
For any traveler, self-quarantining during the trip is not ideal, let alone for Hagerty's party. The trip has always been about one goal: catch as many fish as you can.
"We have a fly-out fishing trip the day after arrival for sockeye and silver salmon, and then five boat fishing trips with two guides (four anglers per boat) for sockeye and silver salmon," Hagerty said.
As such, the difficulty of obtaining a COVID-19 test with a turn-around time of 72 hours seems like a piece of cake in comparison to a 14-day quarantine.
Travel restrictions and the 72-hour tests are not unique Alaska either. The rules are similar in other states.
Hawaii is even warning tourists that they risk a $5,000 fine or imprisonment if they violate self-quarantine.
Hagerty could cancel or postpone the trip. She admits that her trusted guides would probably give her a good deal, or even allow her to put some of the cost towards the next trip in 2022.
The loss is less financial, and more about missing the opportunity just because of one rule that seems impossible to follow. It's made worse when you're someone who has embarked on the Alaskan adventure seven times before without fail.
"We've been very careful about following everything to make sure that we are protected and that we are not infecting others," Hagerty said. "I don't believe that people really realize…getting the COVID test isn't the issue, it's the timing of the issue. How do we get it back within 72 hours…we're stuck in a kind of quandary, yet we're following all of the rules."
In the meantime, all Hagerty can do is wait out the upcoming weeks in quarantine, knowing that the three days before her flight could change everything.
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