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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you’ve all had a healthy and happy week so far. It’s nice to see the sun out today, even if it is a bit chilly.
Last night I joined a panel of local leaders at a virtual Ballard District Council meeting, including Seattle City Councilmember Daniel Strauss, to provide pandemic-related updates and what the County and City have been doing to address this crisis and the corresponding economic fallout from both a financial and a public health perspective. I appreciated being invited to participate in this unique town hall and enjoyed the thoughtful conversation we were able to have with residents from Ballard. If you weren’t able to participate last night, you can stream the event by clicking the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGFbg-feklk&fbclid=IwAR05Uhrj_wGboataos2jUC-IcFCdIO-tNJRkz5p2ctYrUYYygNtRU4JWr74
As a reminder, beginning on May 18, King County residents are being directed by Public Health to use face coverings in indoor public settings, outdoors where social distancing is difficult. Wearing a face covering can help prevent the spread of infection to others as well as to ourselves by blocking infectious droplets from spreading when someone with the infection coughs, sneezes and speaks. Individuals can be infected and contagious before or even without developing symptoms. Evidence suggests a significant number of infections may be transmitted in this way.
This is especially important in light of this article from MIT’s Technology Review that notes that loud talking could leave Coronavirus in the air for up to 14 minutes. So, remember to keep your voice down and wear a facial covering of some kind when in public.
In response to this new directive, King County is distributing 115,000 face coverings and masks through community-based organizations. And the City of Seattle is working with community-based organizations to distribute over 45,000 cloth face coverings to vulnerable communities, including people experiencing homelessness, older adults, and staff at food banks. Community partners are identifying eligible people based off their existing client lists.
My office will also soon be receiving masks in bulk for distribution to communities and organizations without access to a suitable supply of face coverings. Once we have the masks in hand, I will be sure to let you know how you might be able get some. Stay tuned.
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 86 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (7,307 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (514 total). So thankful to see that no one has passed because of the virus since my last update. This is the first time that has happened since I began sending these daily enews editions since March 1st. It’s wonderful to have some good news!
As of May 13, there were 17,773 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 983 related deaths. These are up 443 cases and 21 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
   
New Elliott Avenue shelter site
 Here I am with Flo and Dan from Catholic Community Services
Today I took a tour of the county's new modular shelter pilot site on Elliott Avenue in Interbay along with Executive Dow Constantine. Dow spoke along with Mayor Durkan at the corresponding press conference. This site, operated by Catholic Community Services, will be used to house clients from more crowded facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The site includes housing, meeting spaces, showers and laundry facilities as well as 24/7 enhanced services. The pilot will test construction, cost effectiveness, durability and portability of modular construction.
The Elliott project has been years in the making – literally as I began working on it in 2016 along with Councilmember Rod Dembowski and Assessor John Arthur Wilson and then-Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw. We had no idea until recently that it would be called on to be used as a de-intensification facility for highly vulnerable individuals during a pandemic! And it is very gratifying that it is ready to be put to such very important and needed use. The reality is that with the coronavirus pandemic upon us, the world has changed for everyone. I commend the Executive for providing the leadership needed to make this happen. And I am grateful to the many partners in our community who have recognized the vast needs we are facing and that we need to protect our most vulnerable residents in order to protect all of us. Click the following to learn more: https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/constantine/news/release/2020/May/14-elliott-shelter.aspx
Language gaps cause major barriers for businesses seeking aid
We are truly blessed as a region to have such a vibrant business community made up of folks from all walks of life – many are owned by people who are nonnative English speakers. This is making it difficult to navigate the many processes in place for applying for financial aid to weather the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage you to click the following link to read more about this issue in Crosscut: https://crosscut.com/2020/05/language-gaps-make-it-doubly-hard-businesses-seeking-aid Be sure to see the part about a Queen Anne deli owner in District Four.
This problem is exactly why I worked to include and keep intact funding for interpretive services for small businesses in the $60 million emergency spending plan that passed Council unanimously on Tuesday. These services will assist nonnative English-speaking business owners access the funds they need to stay on their feet – which is a benefit for both them and our economy. You can read more about that spending plan by clicking the following link: https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2020/May/5-12-jkw-budget-covid-19-release.aspx
Additional helpful and informative links
Today's moment of levity
Today’s moment of levity again features a new episode of “Some Good News” by actor John Krasinski. As we all can attest, this pandemic has significantly constrained our ability to spend momentous occasions with large groups of people, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate each other from afar! Whether it’s birthdays, graduations, or weddings, people across the globe are finding new ways to celebrate each other in creative ways. This episode of SGN features a wedding, and the love and joy that is captured virtually on this episode is certainly heartwarming. Let’s keep thinking of new and creative ways to connect with each other, and if you’d like to tune in, you can watch the latest SGN episode here: https://www.facebook.com/JohnKrasinski/videos/vb.1626493987615921/1053848855015896/?type=2&theater
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.
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