|
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope this e-newsletter finds you and your family healthy and staying safe. The County Council is about to go on a two-week recess. Though I will be available during this time, it may take a bit longer to get a response if you call or email my office. In addition, we will only be sending out the e-newsletter on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next two weeks.
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 – Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting 158 new positive cases of COVID-19 (15,197 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (647 total) as of this afternoon. The number of new hospitalizations is 2 (1,948 to date). Of the 11,247 cases in which race and ethnicity information is available, 4,466 of those are white and 6,781 are Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Yesterday Public Health reported 160 new positive cases of COVID-19 (15,039 total) and 3 new COVID-19-related deaths (647 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 11 (1,946 total).
Statewide, according to the state Department of Health, as of Wednesday, July 29th, the total number of positive cases was 55,803. Total number of deaths statewide was 1,564, and total hospitalizations were 5,568.
   
COVID UPDATES
Ask an expert: How can young people slow the spread of COVID-19?
 Watch a short video (2 min., 57 sec.) embedded on the Twitter feed of Public Health - Seattle & King County@KCPubHealth featuring Public Health’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Jeff Duchin talking with Hikma Sherka, youth leader from the Youth Development Executives of King County (YDEKC) about how COVID-19 spreads and what we can do to keep our friends and families healthy.
New Jersey comes up with new way to visual “six feet”
On April 9, the official Twitter for the state of New Jersey released a PSA reminding people to stay 6 feet apart. This PSA also offered a new way to measure six feet: By using 4-foot-10-inch Danny Devito. I have suggested to Governor Inslee’s office that we could do something similar here to measure one Gov. Inslee (plus a few inches).
VIDEO: UW Medicine’s Dr. Vicky Fang discusses coronavirus antibody tests
The Seattle Times interviewed Dr. Vicky Fang of the University of Washington about antibody tests. Watch the full video here.
Give Blood!
Blood donations are still urgently needed, and Bloodworks Northwest is making it easy to donate. As detailed in this Seattle Times article, Bloodworks Northwest has opened numerous pop-up donation sites at facilities such as T-Mobile Park, CenturyLink Field, the Paramount Theatre and Cheney Stadium, and even at The Museum of Flight. See more from Public Health on the importance of giving blood during this crisis here.
JUSTICE UPDATES: RACIAL, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Justice for Girls digital town hall, August 5th at 4 p.m.
Join Justice for Girls next week for a zoom discussion on the impact of violence and COVID-19 on Washington state girls’ mental health and well-being. All female-identified youth are invited to a discussion about how their lives are being impacted by violence and a lack of safety, at a county/regional/community level. The conversation will ask questions about what we can do collectively to address the violence, safety and mental health challenges that disproportionately impact communities and schools dealing with a history of systemic racism and of being under-resourced as a result.
Please register here to attend.
John Lewis: Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation
Published yesterday, the day of his funeral, in The New York Times, this is a message for all of us, but is especially directed at the youth of our nation. Lewis wrote this and arranged for its publication shortly before his death. It begins, “Though I am gone, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.” It is powerful! An edition to keep for your children/grandchildren. In fact, my son Kyle and his wife Ali are placing it in a scrapbook for their 7-month-old daughter Francie.
King County surpasses tree-planting goal nearly one year early
A partnership created by King County has surpassed the goal of planting one million trees throughout the region nearly a year ahead of schedule, achieving a milestone set by Executive Dow Constantine in the 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan.
King County and more than 100 partners – cities, Tribes, nonprofits, youth organizations, schools, and businesses – have so far planted 1,122,535 trees in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
King County Parks’ Volunteer Program organized events throughout the region with more than 31,000 volunteers contributing to the initiative and helping restore parks. The program staff currently offers smaller, adapted volunteer opportunities in which participants can practice physical distancing.
The original goal – established in the 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan – was for King County to plant a half million trees with partners planting the remaining 500,000 trees by the end of 2020. King County and partners planted the one millionth tree in February, 11 months ahead of schedule.
The successful partnership created a strong foundation that will help advance the 30 Year Forest Plan, a shared vision developed by King County and partners to guide forest management to achieve multiple benefits in the coming decades.
Read the full announcement here.
OTHER UPDATES
Don’t forget to vote!
Can you believe it? We’re just four days away from the August 4 Primary and 95 days away from the November 3 Presidential Election. King County Elections is working hard to provide safe, secure and transparent elections for voters. Click on the link above for more information about updating your registration, dropping off or mailing your ballot, or other questions about voting.
Right now, turnout for the Primary Election is projected to be lower than expected. Make sure you take the time this weekend to fill out your ballots and mail them in, or drop them off at one of the many King County Election drop boxes across the County.
Pike Place Market partly reopens
This month, the Market opened its Daystall tables to crafters, artists and farmers. More than 30 small businesses set up every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Businesses have added plexiglass at their checkout counters and rearranged dining rooms to protect customers and employees. Social distancing stickers have been added throughout the Market to help remind everyone to maintain 6-foot spacing and an antimicrobial film has been applied to elevator buttons. Reminder: All visitors are required to wear a mask while at the Market.
Click here to see a list of businesses currently open at Pike Place Market.
Delivering masks to the Ballard Northwest Senior Center
Delivering masks to Carlyle Teal, Director of the Ballard Northwest Senior Center.
Jessica, volunteer, and Laurie, chef, who prepare the meals for pick up and delivery.
I had a wonderful time dropping off masks yesterday in Ballard and meeting with a volunteer and chef who prepare the meals for pickup at the Center. Please see my Op-Ed in Westside Seattle: We’re making masks available; It’s up to you to wear one
Additional helpful and informative links
- King County’s plan to fix homelessness put power in the hands of those who’ve been homeless – The Seattle Times
- City of Seattle to open additional citywide COVID-19 testing sites in South Seattle - WestsideSeattle
- School closures reduced COVID-19 cases, deaths up to 60%, study finds - UPI
- Rent's due, again: Monthly anxieties deepen as aid falls off – AP News (But King County is providing $10 million in rental assistance.)
- Seattle startup delivers virtual health care to homeless in LA – Puget Sound Business Journal
- Which King County schools will open virtually this fall? – Seattle PI
- As California coronavirus cases spike, contact tracing stalled by fear and embarrassment – NBC News
- Pandemic’s weight falls on Hispanics and Native Americans, as deaths pass 150,000 – The Washington Post
- Should you clean your phone to combat coronavirus? Definitely... Maybe. – The Wall Street Journal
- Port cancels RFP seeking partner for new cruise terminal – Port of Seattle News
- Pollution is killing Black Americans. This community fought back. – The New York Times
- Judge postpones arguments in Seattle crowd-control weapons case, orders hearing into use of force against protesters - The Seattle Times
- Boeing layoffs hit amid progress on unemployment backlog – KUOW
- Port of Seattle seeks to bring more tourists to Washington state once travel picks up - The Seattle Times
- Big tech companies continue to expand in Seattle – King 5
- Half of Washington state students live in counties where health experts warn against reopening school buildings - The Seattle Times
- What we’re doing for fun: Seattle Shakespeare launches Midsummer scavenger hunt - KUOW
Today’s moment of inspiration
According to this story by Reuters and the Good News Network, a girls’ robotics team in the Afghan city of Herat invented an inexpensive new ventilator model that will help the thousands of Covid-19 patients in their homeland, where there is a lack of the machines in hospitals. They designed an open-source, mobile ventilator that costs as little as $700—compared to the $20,000 needed to purchase a traditional model.
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.
|
