Anchorage's public health manager resigns as city faces worst COVID-19 surge of the pandemic

Sep. 29—Anchorage's public health division manager has resigned, leaving the post temporarily empty as an ongoing COVID-19 surge triggers record-level infections and strains the city's short-staffed hospitals.

Christy Lawton resigned Monday from the position she'd held since February 2019, according to an Anchorage Health Department spokesperson. Municipal officials declined to provide any additional details, citing confidentiality concerns.

Prior to coming to the municipality, Lawton had served as director of the state Office of Children's Services from 2010 until 2018.

On Tuesday, she declined to be interviewed but provided a statement.

"I'm proud of the work that myself and the team at AHD accomplished and have deep admiration for all the public health professionals in our community who have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic," Lawton wrote. "I strongly encourage our city's residents to set aside politics and focus on what it's going to take to truly get back to 'normal'. That means more of us getting vaccinated and continuing diligent mitigation measures in the meantime. We are not safe until the majority of us are protected."

She becomes the fourth municipal public health official to leave the department since July, when Mayor Dave Bronson was sworn in.

Alaska is in the midst of an unprecedented COVID-19 surge driven by the highly infectious delta variant, which has put the state at the top of the nation for recent new cases and recently reported deaths even as it stays below the national average for vaccination rates.

In Anchorage, COVID-19 one-day case counts spiked from just 19 on July 1 to 485 at the start of this week. The state's largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, enacted crisis standards of care earlier this month after staff shortages and high numbers of COVID-positive patients made it impossible to provide treatment for everyone.

Unlike prior administrations that enacted pandemic mask requirements and capacity limits, Bronson has promised not to enact any COVID-19 restrictions and called vaccines "experimental" near the start of his term.

[As Alaska hospitals report severe strain, Anchorage Mayor Bronson blasts their vaccine requirements]

Former municipal epidemiologist Janet Johnston resigned in late July. David Morgan, Bronson's appointee to direct the health department, resigned in August days ahead of a confirmation vote.