Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As I mentioned a few days ago, newly published findings suggesting the spread of COVID-19 slowing is good news, and health officials stress that continuing social distancing guidelines is the most effective way to continue this positive trend and avoid a resurgence of the epidemic.
Continuing to practice social distancing does mean that this will continue to be a marathon rather than a sprint. For that reason, taking care of your mental health during this time will be incredibly important. Isolation can worsen mental and physical health and trigger anxiety and depression. If you’re feeling lonely, stressed or anxious, check out this State Department of Health blog post for three ways you can take control. Also, be sure to check out today’s Moment of Levity at the bottom of this eNews.
Our next Committee of the Whole Meeting will be taking place on Tuesday, April 21st at 1pm. The agenda was released, and the motion that Councilmember Zahilay and I have co-sponsored calling on our state and federal leaders to impose a moratorium on rent and mortgage payments will be heard. The agenda and information on how to provide public comment on agenda items are both available at the following link. https://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=8373&GUID=DBDD01CF-0071-4CAC-9D67-10AA605E2DCF.
As a reminder, the motion that has been introduced is largely symbolic, in that it is non-binding. Similarly to the resolution passed by the Seattle City Council, this action would add the King County Council to a list of other local governments across the nation that have called on state and federal governments to find relief for renters—both residential and commercial, homeowners, and business owners. If passed, this motion does not hold immediate legislative power in King County. Rather, this calls on state and federal officials to take action on the spirit of this motion.
The rest of this e-newsletter is meant to provide you with an update on some of the other issues on which I’ve been working as well as on helpful information related to the COVID-19 crisis. As always, I would like to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or comments. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.
Latest numbers from Public Health
As of this update, Public Health is reporting 93 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (4902 total) and 11 new COVID-19 related deaths (331 total), so we’re pretty much continuing to “flatten the curve.” Hopefully we’ll begin soon to see a downward trajectory.
Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19 are available on Public Health’s data dashboard. And, interestingly, you can click on your zip code to learn of the number of “positive” cases and fatalities where you reside.
Also, and again, here is an excellent website that offers real-time COVID-19 data in clear formats, broken down by country and state: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Update on at-home testing and testing capacity for first responders
New cases of COVID-19 in King County have been identified that might have gone undetected, thanks to volunteer participants who collected their own sample at home and sent it to a lab for testing through the greater Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network—or SCAN for short. In additional news, testing has been made available for symptomatic first responders and health care workers who cannot access testing through their health care provider or occupational health services. Please go to our COVID-19 website under “Resources for service providers and health care providers,” for more information and to complete a survey to see if you meet criteria for these tests, or you can always call 206-477-3977.
Gov. Inslee expands eviction moratorium and adds additional protections for residential and some commercial tenants
In the spirit of Councilmember Zahilay’s and my motion calling for rent and mortgage relief, Gov. Jay Inslee expanded protections for renters yesterday as COVID-19 continues to impact the finances of Washingtonians statewide. Inslee’s new proclamation extends and expands the original order through June 4th. To read more about Gov. Inslee’s new announcement, there is an informative article in the Seattle Times today.
More Metro and Sound Transit reductions coming
In response to continued low ridership and increasing staffing challenges, both local transit agencies will implement further service cuts beginning Monday.
Metro reports 70% ridership declines from pre-COVID levels and the agency will soon operate approximately 42% fewer buses and 27% fewer service trips than typical weekday service. Weekend trips will be reduced by 15% on Saturdays and 4% on Sundays.
Meanwhile, Sound Transit reports ridership declines ranging from 85-90% and will be cutting 29 weekend trips from routes 542 and 550, and will reduce light rail headways from 20 to 30 minutes, but will exclusively run 4-car trains. Keep in mind if you ride to maintain social distance and to wear masks or other face protections and gloves as possible.
Puget Sound Energy to offer assistance during pandemic
Puget Sound Energy will make funds available to help customers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through its Crisis-Affected Customer Assistance Program.
This includes customers who recently became unemployed, partially unemployed, or cannot work. With approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, PSE made revisions to its program to make these funds available to a broader group of customers.
PSE also continues to offer payment plans and allow customers to change bill due dates for those who may need additional assistance. For more information on this program and other program offerings, visit www.pse.com/covidhelp. Thank you, PSE!
Staying physically safe while staying at home
Sadly, nationwide stay at home orders have apparently led to an increase in reported cases of domestic violence, including crimes committed against children.
Intimate partner violence has serious health impacts for victims and their families, including fear, PTSD, mental and physical injury, and death. If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1–800–799-SAFE, text “LOVEIS” to 22522, TTY: 1–800–787–3224, or visit www.thehotline.org.
WIC is an essential service and continues to be available to pregnant women, new moms, and young children
During this challenging time, Washington WIC is here for vulnerable families. WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The program gives families access to nutritious foods, nutrition education and breastfeeding support, health assessments and referrals.
Given recent employment changes and layoffs, people may be seeking WIC services for the first time or returning to services. WIC has the capacity to serve additional people.
People seeking WIC services do not need to visit a WIC clinic. WIC services are available by phone or video chat even when physical buildings are closed. To find WIC services in your area:
Washington WIC has recently added many nutritious food options to help ensure WIC participants can find foods when shopping. WIC clinics can answer questions about these foods. Download the WIC Shopper app for more information.
Executive transmits Harborview Capital Improvement Bond Measure to Council
If this pandemic has taught us anything, which hopefully will be a lot more, it is that a robust medical system is vital to the health of our community, and that Harborview Medical Center is a treasure. On Thursday, King County Executive Dow Constantine transmitted legislation to the King County Council that would place a capital improvement bond measure before King County voters on the November 2020 General Election ballot. The measure seeks voter approval of $1.74 billion in general obligation bond funding over 20 years for health and safety improvements at King County’s Harborview Medical Center.
“This is our generational obligation - to ensure our region continues to be the best place in the country to receive emergency medical care. There are a lot of competing needs – this is one where we are compelled to step up. It is a priority we must not postpone and cannot ignore,” said Executive Constantine.
Small business support depleted; State opens Business Response Center.
Both federal and state small business support programs reported being oversubscribed as of yesterday. The Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection program was announced to be out of funds, while the State’s “A Working Washington” emergency grant program has discontinued accepting applications in King and other counties due to overwhelming volumes of applicants and limited staff. Meanwhile, the state Economic Resiliency Team (ERT) has started a Business Response Center to answer general business inquiries around financial help or other business assistance during the COVID-19 outbreak. “We have a whole team of people from the Department of Commerce, the Joint Information Center and volunteers from throughout state government, who are taking in those questions, creating FAQs, and getting back to people answering their concerns,” said state Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown.
Businesses with questions can fill out a form on coronavirus.wa.gov, a one-stop portal to get information related to COVID-19.
Corrections announces upcoming transfer of individuals back to the community:
The Washington State Department of Corrections is planning for the transfer of incarcerated individuals back to their communities. The goal in transferring a limited number of individuals to the community is to provide more physical distancing within the state’s correctional facilities. The Department is implementing strategies to reduce the population in state correctional facilities, while also considering public safety. The strategies focus on individuals who are not currently incarcerated for violent or sex offenses and nearing the end of their incarceration.
White House announces national guidelines to begin lifting social distancing
From yesterday’s announcement: “Developed by the top medical experts from across the Government and based on verifiable metrics regarding the situation on the ground, the guidelines outline a phased return to reopening including specific steps for State, Local, and Tribal officials to follow in tailoring their response.” The plan, exclamation points and all, can be found here: Guidelines for Opening Up America Again! This marks all levels of government starting to coalesce around a stepwise re-emergence strategy centered around sound public health guidance. Governor Inslee expressed appreciation yesterday at his press conference for the guidelines while commenting that they fit into our state’s constitution granting the right to do so.
Effort to improve case reporting by race
Yesterday, Executive Constantine, Board of Health Chair McDermott and Council Chair Balducci signed a letter requesting that the State Board of Health require race/ethnicity data be reported for all notifiable conditions as part of the Board’s update to state health regulations. Having this information will help to identify and respond to racial disparities in communicable disease conditions. For instance, data shows persons of color (Black/African American, Latinx/Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native) have higher rates of HIV diagnosis than overall King County rates. Having this data has allowed King County to focus resources on populations most at risk for poor outcomes. It also enables local health jurisdictions to work with agencies and community based organizations who serve these populations. The need for better and more streamlined data has grown more urgent as King County responds to COVID-19.
Helpful and informative links
Today’s moment of levity
During this time of uncertainty, individuals are dealing with any associated anxiety in a number of different ways—from hoarding toilet paper (not recommended) to taking socially distant walks and breathing fresh air (recommended). NPR provided us with this cute cartoon of what too much hoarding and anxiety can begin to feel like, as well as some practical recommendations on ways to manage the coronavirus anxiety. Take a listen here.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my update. You can expect ones to continue being sent out on a daily basis, sometimes more than one. Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here.
Finally, to prevent these updates from going straight to spam or junk folders, I encourage you to mark this email address as a “safe sender” by adding the email address to your contacts or address book. And be sure to check your spam folder if you think you may have missed an update.
And please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns and, most importantly, be well.
All the best,
- Jeanne
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