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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The Council spent most of our meeting this afternoon deliberating a nearly $60 million-dollar emergency COVID-19 spending plan that I sponsored as the Council Budget Chair along with Budget Vice Chair Rod Dembowski. The legislation provides funding for a variety of programs, including funding to respond to youth homelessness; relief for small businesses; expanded funding for the Community Development Block Grant; increased capacity for newly added isolation and quarantine facilities; support for the hard-hit tourism and creative sector (arts, culture, heritage, science and music) venues in order to attract visitors back to fill our convention and events centers, hotels, restaurants, and, in doing so, bring jobs back as well as very needed revenue to fund our essential services.
Further, the plan includes much needed funding to small chambers of commerce and community-based organizations whose primary mission is to provide marketing and technical assistance to small businesses in King County communities. The measure passed full council unanimously.
This is a robust spending plan aimed at helping small businesses, community organizations and our most vulnerable communities throughout the county weather the storm caused by COVID-19 and put us in a strong position to bounce back once the skies have cleared. Ultimately, we need to get people back to work and have all of our ducks in a row for when we can safely approach something close to normalcy. If we can do this, we will be in the best position for ensuring the health and wellbeing of our residents as well as for our economic recovery. This plan helps us get closer to these goals. You can read more about the ordinance by clicking the following link: https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2020/May/5-12-jkw-budget-covid-19-release.aspx
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 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 64 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (7,179 total) and 6 new COVID-19-related deaths (511 total).
As of May 10, there were 17,122 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 945 related deaths. These are up 231 cases and 14 deaths from the last reporting (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
   
Inslee announces new contact tracing brigade
At a press conference Tuesday, Governor Inslee outlined his plan for enhanced contact tracing to continue to limit the spread of COVID-19. This is similar to the work Public Health officials are already doing, but on a much larger scale. As a part of this effort, the state has employed nearly 1,400 personnel who will be responsible for contacting anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 to find out where they have been and whom else they could’ve contacted. These so-called tracers will then be responsible for contacting any of those contacts and asking them to self-quarantine until they are able to be tested. Click the following link to learn more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washington-has-1371-trained-officials-ready-to-begin-contact-tracing-on-the-coronavirus-inslee-says/
COVID-19 volunteer opportunities
Are you interested in volunteering during disasters and significant events like COVID-19? Register with the Washington State Emergency Registry of Volunteers (WAserv) to partner with public health and others who need assistance in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Click the following link to learn more about how you can help in times of need: https://www.waserv.org/
Additional helpful and informative links
Today's moment of levity
“Desperate times call for high fashion” is the tagline of @covidsocks, an Instagram account started and run by Harborview nurse Katie Hammond. On this account, she’s been featuring the colorful and fun socks that she’s seen worn by medical professionals, hoping to offer a bright spot in what can otherwise be an overwhelming time for medical staff. Read more about it here, or take a look at the account for yourself!
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.
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