COVID-19 UPDATES
Since yesterday’s update, Public Health – Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting 184 new positive cases of COVID-19 (19,361 total) and 2 new COVID-19-related deaths (719 total) as of this afternoon. The number of new hospitalizations is 1 (2,223 to date). Of the 14,237 cases in which race and ethnicity information is available, 5,475 of those are white and 8,762 are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. We unfortunately are still hovering in the 100s of new positive cases.
Yesterday, Public Health reported 128 new positive cases of COVID-19 (19,177 total) and 2 new COVID-19-related deaths (717 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 18 (2,222 total).
Statewide, according to the state Department of Health (DOH), as of Wednesday, August 26th, the total number of positive cases was 72,703. Total number of deaths statewide was 1,890, and total hospitalizations were 6,674.
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.
   
COVID UPDATES
State Department of Health: COVID-19 testing still advised!
 The state Department of Health (DOH) is reminding Washington residents that its guidance around testing has not changed: If you have symptoms, you need to get tested. If you’re a close contact of a confirmed case, you need to get tested. Close contacts of confirmed cases also need to stay at home away from others (quarantine) for 14 days after the last exposure even if they test negative for COVID-19, because it is possible for people who test negative to still be incubating the virus, and become contagious later.
Read the full news release here.
How many coronavirus cases are happening in schools? This tracker keeps count
 NPR reports that the National Education Association (NEA) has just launched an app to track the number of positive COVID-19 cases in public K-12 schools. According to NPR, “The tracker is broken down by state and shows schools and counties with known cases and suspected cases and deaths, as well as whether those infected were students or staff.” The NEA tracker app can be found here.
New King County schools COVID-19 response toolkit: Guidance for K-12 public and private school and district staff
 Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) has developed the King County Schools COVID-19 Response Toolkit to support schools as they reopen for in-person instruction. This guidance is intended to supplement WA Department of Health K-12 Schools Fall 2020-21 Guidance and Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction resources with local contact tracing and COVID-19 response guidance.
The toolkit aims to provide schools with:
- Evidence-based strategies and protocols to reduce the risk of COVID-19 as much as possible during in-person learning.
- Guidance to respond quickly and effectively to minimize illness among students and staff when cases of COVID-19 arise.
- Outreach material templates to support school communications for prevention and response to COVID-19 cases.
Donate blood at the UW: August 31st – September 11th
 Bloodworks Northwest will be hosting a pop-up blood donation site at the UW Tower, 4333 Brooklyn Ave N.E. in Seattle between August 31st and September 11th.
All donors are required to wear masks or face coverings at their donation appointment. Please bring your own mask or face covering. If you do not have a face covering, resources for making your own mask are available on the CDC website. No walk-ins, guests, or people under age 16 are permitted onsite.
Parking Instructions for the UW Tower Pop-Up: Park in lot W46, located on 12th Ave between 45th St & 43rd St. You can enter the UW Tower via the skybridge. Parking will be validated for donors for 1-hour. To find the Metro route most convenient for you, check out Metro’s trip planner here.
See this link for more information on the UW pop up donation site. Sign up to give blood here.
JUSTICE UPDATES: RACIAL, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, CRIMINAL
TONIGHT at 7 p.m. PT: A tribute to the life of Congressman John Lewis
Today is the 57th anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I have a dream” speech. Join the Institute for Community Leadership for a moving online tribute to John Lewis. Hosted by Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the Honorable Elihu Harris, the event will include many special guests, video created specifically for the evening, reflections and even some music.
King county eviction prevention and rent assistance program
King County has created a new program to assist households economically impacted by the coronavirus due to illness, loss of income or unemployment who have been unable to meet rent obligations and are at risk for eviction.
King County will use several approaches to quickly serve as many households as possible. The rental assistance program will pay some large residential landlord properties and manufactured home parks in bulk payments for eligible tenants. The County will also seek to distribute tenant rental assistance to smaller landlords whose eligible tenants qualify for assistance through a lottery process. Funding will be prioritized for the highest-need areas in King County.
The Office of Emergency Management seeks survey respondents: 13 languages available
The OEM is seeking responses to a brief Community Preparedness survey about your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. OEM is especially interested in hearing from those who speak languages other than English.
Language-specific survey links:
OTHER UPDATES
Building a more resilient, sustainable, equitable King County: Executive Constantine announces regional strategy to confront climate change
 County Executive Constantine just announced his proposal for the County’s new 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan, which includes cutting greenhouse gas emissions countywide in half by the end of the decade, a stronger focus on climate justice, and preparing the region for climate impacts.
The County exceeded the goals it set in the 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan to make its own operations more energy efficient. The next plan recommends actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a region-wide scale, reducing countywide greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050. It also accelerates the County’s commitment to reducing emissions from its operations by 80 percent by 2030, 20 years sooner than called for in the previous plan.
Last year I introduced, and the Council passed, my legislation to speed up the electrification of King County Metro Transit buses and other county vehicles. Read about the legislation in this article from Crosscut.
Read more about Executive Constantine’s announcement about the 2020 plan in this article from The Seattle Times.
Council to take up Executive’s proposed Fourth COVID-19 Emergency Budget
On Tuesday the Council will take up Executive Constantine’s proposal for the Fourth COVID-19 Emergency Budget. This is a virtual meeting and public comment is welcome. A copy of the agenda and meeting materials, as well as instructions for viewing the meeting and submitting public comment, can be found here.
The proposal includes funding from the federal CARES Act and the state for the County’s continued response to and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. I am working with my colleagues on the Council on a striking amendment that I will offer at Tuesday’s meeting to enhance funding for needed services.
LAST CHANCE to participate in e-newsletter survey
Thanks to those of you who have already completed the survey! It is very brief and the results will help us determine whether we should make any changes in the e-newsletter’s format, content, and frequency. I’d appreciate your taking just a couple of minutes to respond to a few short questions.
Click here to fill out the survey and submit by next Monday. I value your input and will publish the survey results in an upcoming newsletter. Thank you!
Additional helpful and informative links
- Mayor announces new testing site at Chief Sealth High School, says site selected for hardest-hit communities – The South Seattle Emerald
- Why does the coronavirus hit men harder? A new clue – The New York Times
- Severe or fatal COVID-19 very rare in children, study finds – Reuters
- Coronavirus: How are other countries getting children back to class? – BBC
- College towns growing alarmed over outbreaks among students – The Seattle Times
- A day in the life of a coronavirus test lab manager – Marketplace
- Exclusive: WHO sweetens terms to join struggling global COVAX vaccine facility – documents – Reuters
- Six feet may not be enough to protect against coronavirus, experts warn - The Seattle Times
- Local economic recovery shows signs of slowing | Coronavirus Economy in charts - The Seattle Times
- Black Lives Matter grows as movement while facing new challenges - The New York Times
- Millions of pounds of extra pollution were released before hurricane Laura's landfall - NPR
- ‘We demand change’: Fear, anguish over Jacob Blake shooting transforms into action as sports stand still in America - The Seattle Times
- Jobless claims in Washington fall for sixth straight week as state gets new money – The Seattle Times
- For people in crisis, Seattle defaults to police – Crosscut
- Police, federal agents arrest Seattle-based Riot Kitchen crew that stopped in Kenosha to serve free food – The Seattle Times
Today’s moment of inspiration
Chicagoans revel in ‘uplifting’ porch session music jams
 The Chicago Sun-Times reports on resident Jeremiah Collier and his band REUP, who have been performing for neighbors and other residents of Chicago’s south side every Tuesday afternoon and evening. “Some folks pull up with lawn chairs, their coolers and their favorite adult beverages, while others stay in their cars nodding their heads to the music.”
A Facebook video of Jeremiah Collier’s and his band REUP’s performance that went viral with the tagline "There’s more Beauty in Chicago than there is Ugly... believe me there is…" has over a million views to date.
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. And you can click here to visit the archive page where you can find all of my previous enews updates.
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