Today, the Snohomish Health District Board of Health and the Snohomish County Council approved the effort to apply for moving into Phase II of the Safe Start plan. If the application is successful, Snohomish County will be able to take the first step in getting our economy safely working, while maintaining our efforts to limit the effects of the pandemic.
Governor Inslee has successfully led the state in flattening the curve, bringing our case counts down significantly, and maintaining the capacity of our health care system. He deserves credit for following the data and science, not politics. People are alive and healthy because of his persistence.
The residents of Snohomish County have paid a high price from the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are making progress as a result of our residents’ discipline. I believe we are ready to take the next step in the Safe Start plan, and I am hopeful that our application will be accepted by the Department of Health.
Even if we are allowed to enter Phase II, we will still need to continue our social distancing, face covering, and hygiene precautions. The more we can keep up our healthy practices, the quicker we can move forward. Snohomish County now has adequate resources directed toward PPE, testing, contact tracing, and the isolation and the quarantine facility to meet the most important criteria for Phase II.
Also, Snohomish County believes most hospitals currently have sufficient capacity to meet any potential surge. The rate of infection is heading in the right direction and is low enough to make us comfortable moving forward.
If Snohomish County is allowed to move to Phase II and beyond, it will be important to avoid a spike in infections and the likelihood of reverting back to Phase I. COVID-19 will be a threat for some time, but Snohomish County is now better prepared to manage the threat.
I believe we are ready to move to Phase 2 and will be working with my colleagues to make that case to the state.
On a more personal note, I know how much people are suffering right now. Seeing our family members and neighbors mourning, sick, or out of work is causing pain across our community. With one out of every five workers unemployed in Snohomish County, we all have a lot to do. We will need everyone’s help to get us re-opened safely, just as we needed everyone’s help at social distancing. We cannot prevent infections or re-start our economy by government fiat. It will be individuals making smart decisions over the coming days, weeks and months that will determine whether we can maintain our positive trajectory.
The residents of the county deserve credit for making it through what we hope is the worst of the pandemic. But we need to maintain that good work.
To see today's update from Executive Somers, Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer for the Snohomish Health District, and Emmett Heath, CEO, Community Transit, please go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSkmeP-sKAk&feature=youtu.be.
(This was recorded before the Board of Health and County Council approved the application for Phase II.)
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