COVID-19 UPDATES
As of today, Public Health -- Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting these numbers:
- 461 new positive cases of COVID-19 (includes 416 confirmed cases and 45 probable cases. Total number of cases to date is 114,690). Keep in mind this very high number reflects those from the weekend.*
- 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (1,684 to date)
- 24 new hospitalizations (6,620 to date)
Vaccination rates in King County: As of today, 80.7% of King County residents 16 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 75.0% have received both doses.
Among all eligible residents (those 12 years and older), as of today, 79.8% of King County residents 12 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 73.9% have received both doses.
To view updated County vaccination data, see this page: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/vaccination.aspx
To view a breakdown of COVID-19 cases by race and ethnicity (updated on Mondays), click this link. Click here to view the “Key Indicators” data dashboard.
Statewide, according to the state Department of Health (DOH), as of Friday, July 16:
-The number of confirmed positive cases is 421,528; the number of probable cases is 38,539, for a total of 460,067 cases.
- The total number of deaths statewide is 6,042
- The total number of hospitalizations is 26,071
*NOTE: Data are no longer being updated on the weekends. This applies to both the state DOH and Public Health.
COVID AND OTHER UPDATES
Quote of the Day: “Opinions have caused more ills than the plague or earthquakes on this little globe of ours.” – Voltaire, 1759
The latest news on the pandemic
- ‘This isn’t over.’ Even as life gets back to normal for many, COVID-19 keeps killing Washingtonians – The Seattle Times
- American Academy of Pediatrics recommends masks in schools for everyone over 2, regardless of vaccinations - CNN
- With pandemic worsening in US, surgeon general worried – AP News
- COVID-19 vaccine myths: These reasons for not getting a shot don't hold up. In fact, they'll set the US back - CNN
- What vaccinated people should know about COVID-19 exposure, tests and more – CNN
- Rarely, COVID vaccine breakthrough infections can be severe. Who's at risk? – NBC News
- A reality check on breakthrough COVID cases in Washington - KUOW
- Wary and weary, Los Angeles largely accepts restored mask mandate – The New York Times
- Another California county urges vaccinated people to mask up indoors – San Francisco Chronicle
- Delta variant takes hold in U.S. as coronavirus cases rise nearly 70 percent – The Washington Post
- Necessary or not, booster shots are probably coming – The New York Times
- ‘The party is winding down’: States and insurers resurrect barriers to telehealth, putting strain on patients – Stat News
- Opinion: Since the CDC’s mid-May guidance on wearing masks, we’re no longer all in this together – Stat News
- Live: Coronavirus daily news updates, July 19: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world - The Seattle Times
- COVID-19 vaccination site has moved from Kent ShoWare Center to Kent Public Health Clinic – Public Health news release
Drug overdose deaths increasing, Board of Health update on drug user health
 You may have seen some alarming headlines recently about the sharp increase in deaths among drug users since the start of the pandemic.
At last Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Health, Board members received a very thorough briefing from public health experts on “Harm Reduction and Health Care Services for People Who Use Drugs,” the pdf version of which can be downloaded on this page. You may also be interested in these recent articles:
- Drug overdoses killed a record number of Americans in 2020, jumping by nearly 30% - NPR
- Dunn sounds alarm on nationwide spike in drug overdose deaths – Voice of the Valley
For more information, assistance and resources on preventing overdose deaths and treating substance addition, see this King County page: Overdose prevention and response.
New hotline for mental health crises
Beginning in the middle of 2022, individuals will be able to call 9-8-8 rather than 9-1-1 to access services for folks experiencing mental health crises. This is great news as we begin to explore how to have more therapeutic, trauma-informed options to call for people in crisis. Read more about the new hotline in this Crosscut article: New suicide prevention hotline aims to divert callers from police. To find services and resources for anyone undergoing a mental health crisis, see this page from the King County Department of Community and Human Services.
Extreme weather and climate updates
 As you probably know, the effects of a warmer planet are being felt around the world, and are increasing in frequency and intensity. Below are a few recent articles on heat waves and wildfires, as well as other impacts from climate change.
- Wildfires are intensifying. Here’s why, and what can be done. – The New York Times
- What climate scientists are saying about this catastrophic summer - Slate
- Inslee issues, amends proclamations relating to wildfires and recent extreme temperatures – Governor’s office July 16 press release
- Washington wildfires already draining resources. 'We can't afford to have any spark out there - KUOW
- California utility says its equipment may be linked to fire – AP News
- Huge Oregon blaze grows as wildfires burn across western US - AP News
- ‘No one is safe’: Extreme weather batters the wealthy world – The New York Times
- German officials defend their actions on devastating floods – AP News
- Last ice-covered parts of summertime Arctic Ocean vulnerable to climate change – UW News
- King County’s 2020 Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP)
- Hot NW summer: More high temps and low precipitation ahead – KUOW
Video: One-minute DIY filter fan
 Public Health has produced a video and instructions on how to make an air filter with a box fan, air filter, and bungee cord. These DIY filter fans can quickly clean the air in your home or work space! Read more and view the video here.
Public review period for the Hazardous Waste Management Plan Update: July 19-August 16 – Your input is needed!
 The King County Hazardous Waste Management Program (Haz Waste Program) is updating its 10-year plan. The 2021 Plan will provide a blueprint for how the Haz Waste Program will work to reduce toxic exposures to people and the environment in King County.
The Plan is available for public review and comment. Haz Waste Program staff would greatly appreciate your feedback. Please visit https://www.hazplanupdate.com to see the 2021 Plan, provide comments, and share your overall input on the Plan.
Video: A tale of two waters
 One of many industrial sites located on the Duwamish over the last 60 years.
Seattle is about 40% water, but not all of our bodies of water are created equal. View this seven-minute video from Crosscut for some crucial history about the Duwamish River. The largely immigrant and Indigenous communities living on the River have been forced to bear the ongoing environmental burdens resulting from sixty years of pollution and neglect.
This week at the Council
Note: Council meetings are still being held remotely. Instructions for viewing the meetings and providing your input - as well as the agenda and meeting materials - are included in the links below.
Tomorrow – Budget and Fiscal Management Committee – 9:30 a.m.: Discussion and possible action on COVID 8 emergency budget and the Blake decision and a briefing on the DCHS Rental Assistance Program
Tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m., the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, which I chair, will discuss the Council’s amendments to the Executive’s proposed COVID 8 emergency budget (the third COVID emergency budget this year, and the eighth since the pandemic began). The COVID 8 budget, using federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) funding, will help address the County’s legal system backlog, public health response to the pandemic, economic recovery, county operations in response to the pandemic and other COVID-related programs and services. The budget will also use significant new state funds to provide additional rental assistance to those who are at risk of eviction.
Committee members will also appropriate additional funding to the County’s criminal legal system, to comply with the State Supreme Court’s Blake decision, which requires counties to cover certain costs for defendants.
For instructions on viewing the meeting and providing your input, and to view the agenda and meeting materials, see this page.
Tomorrow – Full County Council - 1 p.m.: Discussion of property tax levy increase for roads, Disability Pride Day proclamation, public hearing on small house zoning
For instructions on viewing the meeting and providing your input, and to view the agenda and meeting materials, see this page.
Tomorrow – Employment and Administration Committee – 1:30 p.m.: Councilmembers will interview the two finalists for the position of Director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO)
For instructions on viewing the meeting and providing your input, and to view the agenda and meeting materials, see this page. Note: No public comment is scheduled for this meeting, as two special public comment sessions were held last week.
Wednesday – Committee of the Whole – 9:30 a.m.: Briefing on County’s COVID response, discussion on filling judicial vacancy and potential interviews with three candidates
For instructions on viewing the meeting and providing your input, and to view the agenda and meeting materials, see this page.
Wednesday – Regional Transit Committee – 3 p.m.: Metro update on service restoration
For instructions on viewing the meeting and providing your input, and to view the agenda and meeting materials, see this page.
New round of rental assistance payments help stabilize 800 County households.
 Photo from Reuters
The County’s Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program (EPRAP) paid its first rental assistance payments from this round of funding on Friday, July 16th, totaling more than $4 million. The payments, sent to 42 local property owners, create critical stability for over 800 households in King County who had fallen behind in rent payments due to COVID-related economic crises. For details, see this article.
EPRAP is administered by the County’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), which distributed the first installment of EPRAP assistance between August and December of 2020, serving more than 9,000 households with nearly $38 million. This year, DCHS had already administered a second round of EPRAP payments between January and June -- awarding another $13 million to more than 2,400 households. Currently, payments are being made based sequentially on when renters and landlords applied.
The EPRAP program is in the process of setting up an Advisory Committee, and will begin soliciting applications later this week. We’ll have details for you about how to apply in the next e-newsletter.
You may also find this article and report from the UW’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance to be of interest: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income tenants’ housing security in Washington state.
Public Defender Association will operate JustCARE outreach program in Seattle
The County’s last COVID budget, COVID 7, included $7.5 million to the County’s Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) to contract with an organization for outreach, engagement, case management, and hotel-based sheltering for at least 150 people currently experiencing homelessness. The City of Seattle has since also appropriated its own $7.5 million for the same scope of work, allowing for a full year of operations.
JustCARE has already begun engagement in City Hall Park, where it will focus first, and where it expects to begin moving a substantial number of persons currently living in City Hall Park into hotel-based shelter in the first weeks of August after building relationships and conducting assessments this month.
Federal child tax credit takes effect
 You may have heard news that parents and guardians will now begin receiving $250 or $300 (depending on age of child) per month, per child in their bank accounts. Here are some of the details:
- Child Tax Credit – The White House website
- Child tax credit starts hitting US families’ bank accounts – AP News
- Why the new monthly child tax credit is more likely to be spent on children – The New York Times
Free Shakespeare in the parks
During the summer, the Seattle Shakespeare Company presents free, outdoor productions of classical plays performed in parks throughout the Puget Sound region. Grab a picnic, bring your family and enjoy free Shakespeare in the parks! No tickets are needed and seating in the parks is on a first-come, first-seated basis. View the performance schedule and details here.
Ballard Gives Back - - to help Ballard Food Bank
Small businesses in Ballard are working together to present Ballard Gives Back this Saturday, July 24th. Ballard Gives Back is a program that was originally created by Ballard merchants to encourage socially conscience holiday gift shopping by donating a portion of their proceeds from Black Friday sales to a selected charity. In an effort to help the Ballard Food Bank reach its goals, Ballard’s business owners have added another Ballard Gives Back day - - this Saturday. It’s Christmas in July! Do your shopping and dining at these generous businesses this Saturday, July 24th,and a portion of the proceeds from your purchase will go directly to the Ballard Food Bank.
Historic Seattle summer events: Tomorrow hear from the author of the bestselling book, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.
Historic Seattle is hosting several events this summer - - most of them free. Tomorrow evening, Tuesday, July 20 at 5:30, join Historic Seattle for a deep-dive into the legacy and history of the Green Book in the Pacific Northwest with Candacy Taylor, author of the bestselling book, Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America. The discussion is free and will last one hour. More details are available here.
DID YOU KNOW?
... that twelve years and one day ago, on July 18, 2009, Seattle's light-rail era began, according to HistoryLink? That’s the day Sound Transit's Link light-rail trains carried their first passengers between downtown Seattle and Tukwila. By the end of the year, the service reached Sea-Tac airport, and in 2016 the line was extended northward to Capitol Hill and UW. This October, the trains will reach Northgate.
Additional helpful and informative links
- Vaccine inequity: Inside the cutthroat race to secure doses – The Seattle Times
- Why a Covid-19 vaccine isn't available for kids yet – CNN
- Seattle Public Schools District unveils plan to clear homeless camp near Seattle school – KOMO News
- In victory for families of people killed by police, state Supreme Court allows inquest reforms to proceed – Publicola
- King County pandemic response was strong, but lessons to be learned for future emergencies – The Issaquah Reporter
- How is Seattle’s water supply? - Seattle City Council Insight
- Drowning prevention could get a boost in federal budget – Pew Stateline
- Public Safety Fizz: “Less-lethal” weapons restrictions move forward, heat wave’s impact on prisons examined, county searches for new police oversight head – Publicola
- Local hate crimes continue rising in 2021; FBI urges reporting – KIRO 7 News
- King County to require electric vehicle charging stations at new developments – KING 5 News (on my legislation)
Today’s moment of inspiration
 According to CNN, “When Eliot Middleton was a little boy, he followed his father around everywhere, watching the talented mechanic carefully fix car after car.”
Middleton’s father died less than a year ago, and Middleton, now a restaurant owner (and former mechanic himself), is honoring his father by fixing old cars and donating them to people throughout rural South Carolina, where public transportation is sparse.
So far, he's collected 100 cars and surprised 33 community members with a repaired ride -- without asking for a single thing in return. Read the full details of this inspiring story – including how Middleton originally came up with the idea – in this CNN article.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I am now sending out on Mondays and Thursdays. 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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