Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As I expected and mentioned in yesterday’s update, Gov. Jay Inslee announced today that he would be extending the stay-home order through May 31 and cautioned that restrictions may be necessary beyond that date. He also outlined four phases for lifting restrictions as transmissions decrease, testing capacity grows and contact tracing capability comes online, with each phase at least three weeks apart and only if no flare-up of cases were to happen in between.
Inslee said some businesses may be allowed to reopen before May 31, with restrictions in place to allow continued social distancing. He also said counties with low incidence of COVID-19 would be able to apply to reopen sooner. So stay tuned.
For more information, The Seattle Times has full coverage and Inslee is expected to post full details to his Medium page later.
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 helpful information related to the COVID-19 crisis. You can now read previous updates I sent out on an archive page so you can find any information you may have missed. I have been sending updates every day since March 1 (sometimes more than one in a day). Click here to visit the archive page.
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.
All the best,
 
Latest numbers from Public Health
Since yesterday’s update, Public Health is reporting 99 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (6,407 total) and 3 new COVID-19-related deaths (449 total). I’m very gratified to learn of the death decline but still experience immense sadness each day over having any number of fatalities. And, again unfortunately, the number of new positive cases is continuing to remain on a plateau.
As of April 29, there were 14,327 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 814 related deaths. (Note: We do not receive the statewide data daily in time to include in our daily enews.)
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
 
COVID-19 disproportionately impacting people of color
Public Health – Seattle & King County is releasing updated data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race and ethnicity. The updated data show that in King County, COVID-19 is disproportionally impacting communities of color.
Hispanic/Latinx, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders and Blacks had significantly higher rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations as compared to Whites. The rates were also higher among American Indian/Alaskan Natives (though not statistically significant due to small population numbers) and slightly lower among Asian populations as compared to Whites.
While the total number of deaths from COVID-19 is highest among Whites, the rate of death per 100,000 for Hispanic/Latinx and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders is more than double that of Whites. Click the following link to learn more: https://publichealthinsider.com/2020/05/01/new-analysis-shows-pronounced-racial-inequities-among-covid-19-cases-hospitalizations-and-deaths/
Additional helpful and informative links
Today’s moment of levity: Cats in an aquarium? You must be kitten me!
My husband, Alex, and I consider ourselves very lucky to have the lovely company of our wonderful cat, Precious. Having a furry friend to care for right now definitely adds a little warmth to what can be an otherwise very work-focused day! Regardless of whether you have a pet with you or not, I’m sure you’ll enjoy experiencing the aquarium with these kittens for the first time in Georgia.
https://atlantahumane.org/kittens-at-the-georgia-aquarium/#.XqyiNfjsbIV
If you’d like to check in on some of the animals at the Seattle Aquarium closer to home, make sure to check out these live cams of sea otters and seals! I sure appreciate being able to check in on them from home.
https://www.seattleaquarium.org/live-cams
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my update. You can expect these 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.
-Jeanne
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