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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We are indeed in challenging times. COVID-19 is taking a toll not only on our mental and physical health, but on government budgets and, of course, those of businesses, community organizations, non-profits, just about everything we’ve known as constants in our lives. And in the midst of these challenges, officials, parents, teachers and students are grappling with the questions of how schools can be reopened relatively safely. And, unfortunately, we’re continuing to see higher numbers of new cases, but fortunately not a corresponding numbers of new deaths.
The rest of this e-newsletter includes updates on the COVID-19 crisis and other issues. And you can click here to visit the archive page where you can find all of my previous enews updates.
As always, I would like to hear from you. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.
All the best and I hope you are staying safe.
COVID-19 UPDATES
Since yesterday’s update, Public Health is reporting 155 new positive cases of COVID-19 (12,099 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (604 total) as of this afternoon. The number of new hospitalizations is 5 (1,698 to date). Of the 9,149 cases in which race and ethnicity information is available, 3,708 of those are white and 5,441 are Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
On Saturday, Public Health reported 139 new positive cases of COVID-19 (11,771 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (603 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 13 (1,687 total).
On Sunday, Public Health reported 174 new positive cases of COVID-19 (11,945 total) and 1 new COVID-19-related death (604 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 6 (1,693 total).
Statewide, as of July 11th, the state’s total confirmed cases are 40,656 with 1,438 deaths, and total hospitalizations of 4,751.
Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19, as well as on rates of hospitalization, is available on Public Health’s data dashboard where you can click on your zip code for the number of “positive” cases and fatalities where you reside.
Real-time COVID-19 data broken down by country and state: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Updated list of places open for COVID-19 testing: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020/May/~/media/depts/health/communicable-diseases/documents/C19/community-health-center-testing-locations.ashx
   
RACIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE UPDATES
Youth forum on criminal justice reform tomorrow, July 14th at 2 p.m.
State Senator Manka Dhingra (D - 45th Legislative District) will be holding a youth town hall on criminal justice reform over Zoom tomorrow, July 14, at 2 p.m. Several young people from Community Passageways will be on hand to give their insights and take questions. You can sign up here. You can also submit questions ahead of time by emailing kenneth.fockele@leg.wa.gov.
Wednesday at noon: Free webinar: Supporting undocumented students and families
Sponsored by the Equity in Education Coalition, this free “Lunch and Learn” webinar features Jorge Baron, Executive Director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. It is being held this Wednesday, July 15, from noon to 1:30 p.m. To register, click here. (I was pleased to speak at this morning’s meeting of the Coalition’s Partners in Change on the Council’s work addressing anti-hate and bias efforts in furthering our efforts toward racial and social justice.)
From Public Health: New public data dashboard highlights efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 among people living homeless
People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of infectious disease. COVID-19 is the most recent and deeply concerning example of that threat. For a population with higher levels of underlying health conditions, less access to resources necessary to stay healthy, and a greater likelihood of living in congregate settings like shelters, this all adds up to an increased risk for infection and severe illness.
For these reasons, slowing the spread of COVID-19 among people living homeless and the service providers supporting them is a priority. Public Health – Seattle & King County keeps a careful eye on disease activity and testing efforts at local homeless service provider sites, in order to act as quickly as needed.
Now, the public can see the status of those efforts on a new public data dashboard.
Slowing the spread of COVID-19 is a coordinated effort across the homeless service system, which includes shelters, day centers, encampments, permanent and transitional supportive housing programs, health care providers, outreach workers and people experiencing homelessness. In addition, King County’s Department of Community and Human Services and the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department are key partners in the effort.
These collaborative efforts fall into three categories:
- Making spaces safer
- Infection control, outbreak response and testing
- Ongoing supplies and support for homeless shelter sites
For details on this effort, please see this post on the Public Health Insider blog.
COVID UPDATES
Warning: Serious adverse health impacts associated with methanol-based hand sanitizers
The FDA and CDC have issued warnings against the use of hand sanitizers containing methanol. Most commercially available alcohol-based hand sanitizers or rubs (ABHSR) contain either ethanol or isopropanol as active ingredients. On June 19, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers not to use any hand sanitizer manufactured by “Eskbiochem SA de CV” in Mexico, due to the potential presence of methanol, a “toxic alcohol,” as an active ingredient, which can cause blindness and/or death when absorbed through the skin or when swallowed. Since then, FDA has identified additional ABHSR products that contain methanol and is working with manufacturers and distributors on a voluntary recall of these products (https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitzers-methanol).
For more information, see this FDA website for updates on hand sanitizers containing methanol.
What’s more risky, going to a bar or opening the mail?
Thanks to my colleague, Councilmember Peter Von Reichbauer, for letting me know about this helpful chart put together by the Texas Medical Association. The chart displays rankings of many common activities by degree of risk, putting them into “low,” “low-moderate,” “moderate,” “moderate-high,” and “high” risk categories. Click here to download a pdf version of the chart.
Back to school: Learning to keep apart as classes reopen
View these remarkable images from Reuters showing schoolchildren, teachers and schools as they adapt to our new reality with a variety of physical distancing strategies.
The photo above, by Athit Perawongmetha for Reuters, shows Kindergarten students from the Wichuthit school in Bangkok, Thailand eating lunch during a “social distancing rehearsal” on June 23 ahead of nationwide schools reopening.
While we do not know yet what will happen here in Washington regarding opening our schools, some local school districts and states announced today that their schools will not physically reopen and will instead have instruction conducted remotely. A big upcoming decision for our state!
See this New York Times editorial from Friday, “Reopening schools will be a huge undertaking. It must be done.”
Also, see this Washington Post story that ran in today’s Seattle Times: "No, Trump and DeVos can’t withhold funding from schools whenever they want. Here’s what they can do."
And, in today’s New York Times: Los Angeles and San Diego schools to go online-only in the fall.
Councilmember Dunn’s legislation tasks the County with creating new pandemic response plans
Last week, the Council unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Councilmember Reagan Dunn, directing Public Health – Seattle & King County to create a new County-wide pandemic response plan to guide the County’s response to any future viral outbreaks.
An interim report will be presented to the King County Council by September 1, 2021, and the pandemic response plans are due by September 1, 2022. For more information, see the news release here.
Answer the phone! An update from the state Department of Health (DOH) on contact tracing
The state DOH sent out this update last week on the importance of helping contact tracers do their jobs:
“If you get an unexpected call from the health department, answer the phone. If you miss a call, they will leave a voice mail or text you. Call them back. These are contact tracers, and they are calling because one of your friends or someone with whom you were in contact has been diagnosed with COVID-19. You have been exposed, and your friend wants to make sure you don’t spread it to your loved ones. The health department will keep all your information confidential. That is, they won’t tell anyone you were exposed to COVID-19, and they won’t tell you which of your friends has been diagnosed with COVID-19, unless that person gave them permission to.
At the time you get this call, you may feel perfectly well. People who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 can sometimes spread the disease before they get any symptoms at all.
The contact tracers will ask you to quarantine yourself for 14 days. This is the amount of time it can take to develop symptoms of COVID-19. If 14 days pass and you don’t have any symptoms, your quarantine is over and you can rejoin public life. If you do develop symptoms, you will have to stay isolated until your fever has been gone for 72 hours and your other symptoms have improved.”
For more information on contact tracing, see this page from DOH.
OTHER UPDATES
Council’s Committee of the Whole meets tomorrow, Tuesday July 14th at 1 p.m.
Please join us tomorrow for this virtual meeting. The Committee will get a briefing on budget matters related to COVID-19. Members will discuss and potentially take action on several items, including the ordinance establishing the Office of County Sheriff as an appointed rather than elected position.
Please see this page for full information on how to view the meeting and how to provide public comment. To view the meeting agenda, please click here. We had a lively discussion today in a special meeting of the Committee on the sheriff appointment issue. I fully anticipate many people will be weighing in tomorrow. You can read over the recommendation made last year by the Charter Review Commission for establishing an appointment process rather than our current election process here.
Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee meets Wednesday, July 15th at 9:30 a.m.
The Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, which I chair, will meet this Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. These meetings are held virtually, and you are welcome to join us. The Committee will be taking up a supplemental budget that makes adjustments in the 2019-2020 biennial budget.
Please see this page for full information on how to view the meeting. To view the meeting agenda, please click here.
Funding arts, culture and education during COVID-19: Grant deadline July 27th
The County has released the application guidelines for its latest King County COVID Relief package. Championed by Executive Constantine, Councilmember Rod Dembowski and me, and supported by the full King County Council, this funding is allocated to support science organizations, arts/culture/science education programs, and independent live music venues. This is funding Councilmember Dembowski and I worked to get included in the COVID 2 budget at the end of May.
The criteria and application for this funding is detailed here and the application window closes July 27th at 5p.m. PDT. Further information about technical assistance and language translation is also available at the link above.
Please reach out if you are unable to find the information you need.
VIDEO: Art Seen: Seattle artists make plywood their canvas
As a reminder about the importance of art and culture in the midst of difficult times, see this video from Crosscut, in which muralists reflect on the role of public art during pandemic isolation and social protests. Is it graffiti or art? Should it be preserved?
VIDEO: A rescue plan for the planet?
View this virtual event hosted by The New York Times on July 9. Eight speakers and one question: Has Covid-19 created a blueprint for combating climate change?
Washington Sea Grant seeks applicants for its Keystone Fellowship, focused on broadening participation in marine and coastal professions by recruiting students who are underrepresented in these fields
This is a paid fellowship and is open to graduate students who have recently graduated from Washington state universities and those who will graduate before the fellowship begins. Applicants should be pursuing or have a degree in a marine-related field, including policy, law, social sciences, oceanography, and fishery sciences and marine related technical degrees. DACA students are eligible to apply.
Black, indigenous and other People of Color (BIPOC) as well as representatives of the LGBTQ+ community, and allies are encouraged to apply for this opportunity.
Fellows are matched with hosts from state or local government, tribes, nonprofits and maritime industries. They work primarily on science, policy, and industry related projects with an additional emphasis on work related to the advancement of social justice, racial equity and inclusion in these professional spaces.
For more information and to apply, see: https://wsg.washington.edu/students-teachers/fellowships/keystone/
Additional helpful and informative links
- As COVID-19 cases climb, King County’s top health official warns: ‘If we don’t deal with it, it will deal with us’" – The Seattle Times
- This police-free protest zone was dismantled - but was it the end? – The BBC
- The vaccine race – Politico
- How to disinfect your mask: A step-by-step guide - Earth Institute blog, Columbia University
- Coronavirus forces economic reckoning in central Washington’s cherry country – The Washington Post
- LA's mask factories shut down as hundreds of workers get sick – The Guardian
- In the COVID-19 economy, you can have a kid or a job. You can’t have both. – The New York Times
- Universities blast ICE rule that would make international students go home if classes go online - The Seattle Times
- It’s time to begin a national wastewater testing program for Covid-19 – Stat News
- It’s time to rethink the practice of whale watching - Earth Institute blog, Columbia University
- Study shows job loss may affect obesity, health- News, UW School of Public Health
Today’s moment of inspiration
The Good News Network and this reporting from station WTVC of Chattanooga, Tennessee tell the story of Army veteran Christopher Buckley, who was once in charge of national security for the Ku Klux Klan. In 2016, Buckley became friends with a former white nationalist, Arno Michaels, and through that relationship “unlearned” the racist attitudes he said he had developed over the course of his childhood and during his time in the Army.
According to the Good News Network, “Thanks to his friendship with Michaels, Buckley left the KKK and began exposing himself to Black, Muslim, and refugee communities. Their compassion spurred Buckley to become a volunteer with Parents 4 Peace —a nonprofit dedicated to protecting youngsters from racist ideologies and helping white nationalists to let go of their dangerous stereotypes.” Parents for Peace is the same group to which Arno Michaels belongs, after having been “a member of one of the largest racist skinhead organizations in America.”
Watch the video from WTVC here.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I’m sending out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - - and sometimes more frequently. 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 safe.
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