DOH-ODW COVID-19 Update 6/11/20

Washington State
Department of Health

Office of Drinking Water

Greetings Drinking Water Partners:

I hope my messages continue to find you, your family, and your co-workers safe and healthy.

When 2020 started, I had great optimism for everything we were moving forward together to protect Washington's drinking water. In January, I never thought I would spend most of the year working from home full time. In this unprecedented time, DOH staff work to support utilities, just as you all work to provide safe and reliable drinking water to your customers. We're almost half way through the year and I am optimistic about our ability to succeed together! I am amazed and proud of the way we are all adjusting to this new normal.

As businesses start to reopen, we must remember the important multiple barrier preventative measures to protect ourselves and others: stay home when sick, wash your hands often, don’t touch your face, maintain a physical distance of six feet away from others, and wear a cloth face covering in public. Remember wearing a cloth face covering is an additional barrier and is not a substitute for maintaining a physical distance of six feet from others as much as possible.  

Update—Sanitary Surveys. We finished our COVID-19 field safety plan and training with our staff. If you are scheduled to have a sanitary survey this year, we may soon contact you to schedule a survey. Sanitary surveys may look different this year with portions of the survey completed during conference calls or video conferences and less in-person contact. We are taking precautions to protect our staff and yours. You can find our guidance to staff on conducting field visits on our website. Please discuss any concerns or special safety requirements you have in your safety plan with your surveyor prior to their visit. 

Tip—Construction Season. As summer nears, many of you will prepare for summer construction projects and routine operations and maintenance that occurs during this season.  This year’s construction sites may appear different, with limits on the number of contractors and subcontractors on-site at any one time, staggered breaks, and physically distanced lunches. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the governor’s Safe Start construction guidance for Phase 1 and Phase 2.

For you as a drinking water professional, we compiled a list of useful resources on COVID-19 at the top of our main Drinking Water webpage.

Please feel free to forward this message and if you or someone else would like to be added to our email list for water systems and operators, send a message to Elizabeth Hyde. If you have technical questions or concerns, please contact Kay Rottell or your favorite ODW staff member.

Thanks for all the work you continue to do to protect public health and support the economy!

Sincerely,

MIKE MEANS, R.G., LHG

Director

Office of Drinking Water, Washington State Department of Health

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The information below includes recent general messages from the Department of Health.

Good morning. The state Department of Health wants to keep you as informed as possible about continuing developments surrounding COVID-19, as well as provide guidance and resources you can share with employees, clients, or customers. If you want to manage your e-newsletter subscription preferences, you can do so here.

Answer the Call to Stop the Spread

We have all the tools we need to stop the spread of COVID-19. We just need your help!

Answer the call! The actual call. We really need you to answer your phone if someone from the health department calls. They have good advice for you and they called you in particular because they need your help to stop the spread of COVID-19 in your community. Talk to them, answer their questions, and follow their guidance. They’re good people trying to stop a pandemic and open up our economy. Help them out!

Health department hasn’t called? Here are some other ways you can help stop the spread:

Get tested if you have symptoms. If you have a fever or cough or other symptom of COVID-19, call your health care provider and ask to be tested. If you don’t have a health care provider, contact your local health department. They can let you know how to get tested. A COVID-19 test is free to patients whether you have health insurance or not. And if you have symptoms, stay in your home except to get medical care.

Stay home if you might have been exposed to COVID-19. If you have been in a large crowd and weren’t able to maintain six feet of physical distance, help stop the spread of COVID-19 by staying home and away from others for 14 days. Fourteen days is the amount of time it can take to develop symptoms of COVID-19. Pay attention to how you feel. If you start to feel feverish or develop a cough, call your health care provider or health department to get a COVID-19 test.

Cover your face. The governor has mandated that employers make sure their employees cover their faces when around other people at work. Several counties are requiring people to wear cloth face coverings in public places. Regardless of which county you are in, it’s a good idea to cover your mouth and nose with a couple layers of cloth when you are in public. Let your face covering serve as a good reminder to stay six feet away from others!

Remember your hygiene! You’ll prevent COVID-19 and a whole host of other viruses. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Stay home if you are sick. Even a little bit sick.

Clean and disinfect hard surfaces. Hard surfaces like remotes, tables, counters, light switches, doorknobs, handles, toilets, and sinks. Wear disposable gloves to clean and disinfect, and make sure you have lots of fresh air while you are disinfecting. If you can see that the item is dirty, wash first with soap and water or another general cleaner. Then, use a household disinfectant to kill germs.

Your phone is a hard surface too. Use an alcohol-based wipe with at least 70% alcohol to wipe it down and then dry it thoroughly. We’re sure you wouldn’t want to answer the health department’s call with a germy phone!

Numbers. The latest numbers are updated on our webpage. As of 11:59 p.m. on June 8, there are 415,054 people in Washington who have been tested for COVID-19. Of those, 24,354 people (or 5.9%) have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 1,176 people (or 4.8%) have died of the disease.

Practice compassion. Take some time to take care of yourself. Take a break from the news and social media. Take a deep breath. We can beat this, but we need your help!