Dear Friends and Neighbors,
What a gorgeous day in Seattle today! And it looks like it will be a beautiful Mother’s Day tomorrow, before we get hit with a week of clouds and rain. And to let you know, my staff and I will be taking a much needed day of rest tomorrow, as I hope many of you are able to do. It will mark the only day since March 1st that we’ll not be sending out our daily Covid eNews. So you won’t hear from me tomorrow, but I will be back in touch with more news on Monday.
While Mother’s day can be a joyous day for some, it can also be a very tough day for many, such as for those children who have lost their mother, mothers who have lost their children, those with strained relationships, or for women having trouble becoming pregnant. I am especially holding in my heart Wanda Cooper-Jones, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery who gave birth to Ahmaud on Mother’s Day in 1994. Ahmaud would have celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday if he hadn’t been viciously murdered. There are no words that I could share to lessen the pain of this injustice.
I urge all of us to honor Ms. Cooper-Jones by not turning a blind eye to the racism that is still prevalent in our society, both overt and covert. Part of what needs to be done, in my opinion, starts by looking inward at the ways white privilege functions, and by taking other important direct actions. But, however you choose to acknowledge Mother’s day tomorrow, I hope that you are able to take good care of yourself and your family, whether they are “chosen” family or blood relatives. If you are interested, I checked out several articles on the history of Mother’s day and found this one particularly informative. Enjoy the read!
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.
My best to you and yours,
Latest report shows COVID-19 transmission rate could be rising in King County; social distancing remains key
After dropping throughout March and into early April, the transmission rate of COVID-19 is no longer falling and could be rising again in western Washington, according to the latest report from Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM).
A previous report issued last week found that the effective reproductive number—the number of new cases stemming from each COVID-19 infection—had dropped below the critical threshold of 1.0 in King County between March 29 and April 15.
However, updated case and mortality data from the Washington Disease Reporting System revised that estimate upward, showing the reproductive number had no longer been falling and likely has been inching up again since roughly April 6. Continuing reading here.
Latest numbers from Public Health
Since yesterday’s update, Public Health is reporting 60 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (7,000 total) and 5 new COVID-19-related deaths (490 total). So while the total number of new positive cases has declined a bit, the number of deaths has not done so discernably over the past few days.
And statewide, as of May 7, there were 16,388 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 905 related deaths. Detailed regional information is available on the data dashboard for Public Health – Seattle & King County. And, interestingly, you can click on your zip code to learn of the number of “positive” cases and fatalities where you reside. Statewide data is available on the Washington State Department of Health’s COVID-19 data dashboard.
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
Drop in vaccination rates leave children vulnerable to other diseases
Immunization rates among children appear to be dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic. This leaves children and communities at risk.
Providers in Washington’s Childhood Vaccine Program reported they administered 30 percent fewer vaccines to 0-18 year olds in March of this year compared with the same month in previous years. In April, preliminarily we are seeing a 42 percent decrease, but that number may change as April data continue to be reported. Continue reading here.
Community Partner Highlight
From Solid Ground’s “Groundviews Blog”:
….“With Access bus ridership down about 75% or more, we had the drivers and we had the fleet to be able to pivot and change what we’re doing to help the community,” says Solid Ground Transportation Director Kari Ware. With the increased restrictions under Washington State’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” emergency order from Governor Jay Inslee, fewer people are able to go out to work. More people are now facing food insecurity and lack access to critical resources like food banks.
To fill this gap, Solid Ground Transportation and King County Metro are working together with a variety of community partners across King County including: FareStart, the Filipino Community Center, the Ingersoll Gender Center, Asian Counseling & Referral Service (ACRS), Northwest Harvest, South Park Senior Center, and the White Center Food Bank. By having Access bus drivers deliver food directly to the community, this partnership is able to serve up to 10,000 people each day.
Additional helpful and informative links
Today’s moment of levity: Special commencement speakers for our 2020 graduates
 
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.
Sincerely,
-Jeanne
|
