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The Snohomish Health District will continue drive-thru testing at the 3900 Broadway site in Everett next week, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday thru Friday. With daylight hours decreasing, and testing volumes seen earlier in the day, the Health District will no longer be offering evening testing appointments.
In addition to the Everett site, the Health District will also be offering testing at the Lynnwood Food Bank on Tuesday, October 6. Appointments will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5320 176th St SW.
For a step-by-step look at the Health District’s drive-thru testing, check out a new video release this week: https://youtu.be/5tmSEPt5Nis
Testing remains strongly encouraged for individuals that fit the following criteria:
- Anyone with any of the following COVID-19 symptoms (fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headaches, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea); or
- Close contact of a confirmed case; or
- Anyone who lives or works in a congregate setting; or
- Work in healthcare, EMS, law enforcement or other fields where work settings have a higher risk of catching or spreading COVID-19; or
- Part of a family or social network that has had a case.
Registration is now open at www.snohd.org/testing. Insurance information is collected and the lab will bill insurance. There are no co-pays for COVID-19 testing through the Health District. If you do not have insurance, the test will be provided at no charge.
A new phone line has been established for test registration help, particularly those without internet access or needing language interpreter services. That number is 425.258.8425, with calls returned from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday. This number is not for checking on test results.
COVID-19 Updates for Employees and Employers
Workplaces are doing things differently during the coronavirus pandemic to prevent the spread of illness. It can be confusing and frustrating at times for workers as well as supervisors and business owners.
There have been cases of COVID-19 in workplaces in Snohomish County, and there will be more as businesses reopen or expand operations. The Health District’s business and employer response team have worked with more than 80 employers on COVID-19 outbreaks, plus dozens more on single cases and implementation of workplace precautions. More people going back to work means more in-person contact, which is how this disease spreads.
Creating safe and healthy workplaces is crucial if we want to increase and sustain economic activity during the pandemic. However, even with best efforts, cases can happen. This disease is good at getting around.
The Health District published a new blog with important information and resources for both businesses and employees. Topics include:
- Employer notification and contact tracing;
- For employees, what happens if they get sick and don’t have enough leave or are told they need to be at work;
- When an employee can return to work after testing positive for COVID-19, or after being quarantined as a close contact;
- Employers looking at how to provide child care or learning centers for their employees’ families; and
- How employers can keep employees safe while still being able to run a business.
There is also a new FAQ with common questions that their employer notification team gets. The Health District has a number of other resources available on their Businesses & Organizations page.
#ShowYouCare Video
By taking steps to help prevent the spread of illness, we help protect those around us. These actions also help protect the healthcare professionals, first responders, and frontline workers dedicated to taking care of us. To help encourage residents to thank these essential workers by doing their part to keep Snohomish County healthy, the Health District created a video and other materials that will be circulating around the community.
Thanks to the partners at Community Health Centers of Snohomish County, EvergreenHealth Monroe, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, SeaMar Community Health Center, Snohomish County Fire District #7, Community Transit, Sno-Isle Libraries, South County Fire and Marysville Fire District for sharing important messages.
New Information and Updates from the State
A few state agencies released additional information and updates this week:
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Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers issued the following statement to Boeing’s decision to locate 787 assembly in South Carolina:
“Our top concern is with the families, workers, suppliers, and businesses this decision impacts. COVID-19 has pushed our economy into unwelcome and uncharted territory, and this is another result of the global pandemic. But we are resilient. We have survived tough times before, and we will get through this. We also know that Boeing has made long-term investments in Everett, and we will continue to support the important work that continues. Over the last few years, we have been aggressively strengthening our training programs to make sure we have the gold standard workforce development system. Snohomish County will continue to diversify our economy, support our job creators, and attract new businesses, including future investments from Boeing.”
To view the media availability with Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, please go here.
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Kids, families and businesses have had to approach a number of traditions and favorite pastimes differently this year. That will continue with fall and winter holidays ahead, particularly with Halloween quickly approaching.
Similar to tips released by the Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Snohomish Health District recommends opting for household-only and/or virtual activities. From scavenger hunts or movie marathons, to costume or pumpkin carving contests online, sticking with ghouls and goblins at home is best.
Traditional trick-or-treating is considered a high-risk activity for COVID-19 transmission and is discouraged by public health officials. If you do plan on trick-or-treating or handing out candy, be sure to take steps to prevent the spread of illness. Find more information in the news release here.
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Edmonds School District is committed to helping keep our staff, students, parents and community healthy throughout the entire flu season. That’s why they have partnered with the Seattle Visiting Nurse Association to provide drive-through flu clinics this year. Participants will register for an appointment via the link below and remain in their vehicle for the service to ensure a low-contact experience.
2020-2021 Flu Clinics
Time: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Dates & Locations:
- Lynnwood High School: Monday, Oct. 5
- Mountlake Terrace High School: Tuesday, Oct. 6
- Edmonds Woodway High School: Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Meadowdale High School: Tuesday, Oct. 13
- Educational Services Center: Wednesday, Oct. 14 and Tuesday, Oct. 15
Drive-through clinics will be open to all Edmonds School District faculty, staff, students and their families (including children ages four and older). Please complete the registration for each member of your family by visiting the following link, and make sure to register all participants under one phone number.
REGISTRATION LINK - Seattle Visiting Nurse Association
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Are you an Everett Community College (EvCC) student with expenses related to the disruption of EvCC operations due to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic? You may qualify for a federal CARES Act grant, which provides emergency funding for college students. https://bit.ly/36hEj8m
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The City of Arlington is utilizing CARES Act funding to support an online marketplace for Arlington businesses. The Stilly Valley Chamber is launching an attractive online one-stop shopping experience to support Arlington businesses!
Please fill out this interest form if your business would like the opportunity to join the marketplace.
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During the week of September 20 through September 26, there were 17,734 initial regular unemployment claims (down 9.4 percent from the prior week) and 530,360 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (down 1.8 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
Snohomish County’s initial regular claims filed decreased from 1,986 to 1,881 down 5 percent from the week before.
ESD paid out over $775 million for 424,789 individual claims – an increase of $629 million and 135,399 more individuals compared to the prior week. More than $625 million of the total was due to the Lost Wages Assistance program payments.
For more information on current claimants and claims processing progress, please go to the benefits data dashboard on the ESD website.
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The Washington State Department of Health issued updates on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning efforts, deploying new rapid COVID-19 tests, and weekly reports of antigen testing.
COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues to make progress with our COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning efforts.
On Friday, October 2, the National Academies will release the final Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. This report will help guide equitable allocation of a limited initial supply of COVID-19 vaccine. DOH will be looking at that report and using it to inform our planning and thinking for how the agency prioritizes vaccine until there is sufficient supply for demand. The agency has received $5 million in federal funding for COVID-19 vaccine response preparation. Read the full news release here.
New rapid COVID-19 tests
Within the next five to ten days the Washington State Department of Health will receive and distribute the first batch of Abbott BinaxNOW antigen test kits for COVID-19 from the federal government. These are rapid tests that can return results in as little as 15 minutes. The first batch will include 149,000 kits, and the state anticipates receiving nearly 2.3 million total tests between now and December.
These rapid tests work best for and are approved for people with symptoms. This first batch will be distributed to community health centers, tribal clinics and critical access hospitals to increase access to COVID-19 testing in the communities they serve across the state. A plan for distribution of future shipments is in development. Read the full news release here.
Antigen test results now being reported weekly
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) started publishing a weekly report of positive antigen test results. Antigen tests can provide results in minutes, compared to much longer wait times for most molecular test results. Some antigen testing is already happening across the state, and that will only increase in the coming months.
For now, the DOH weekly report will include positive antigen results at the state level only. This report will remain separate from the molecular test results on our DOH dashboard, or on the governor’s Risk Assessment dashboard. Read the full news release here.
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This week, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) finalized contracts with three internet service providers — Ziply, Presidio, and Comcast — to provide the service to up to 60,000 students and their families through the end of the 2020–21 school year at no cost to the family. The program is reserved for students who are low-income and did not have internet access before August 2020.
To participate in the program, potentially eligible families should receive information, including a promo/offer code from a provider, from their local school district. Families may also contact their district to request information.
About the K–12 Internet Access Program
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Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) and Governor Inslee announced Phase II of Washington’s child care pandemic support investments. DCYF worked closely with the Legislature to agree on the structure of the changes, which include another $78 million on top of the $173 million invested in Phase I. The new investments include caps on co-pays to enable more families to afford care, grants to providers, and funding for the extra costs of full day instead of part day care when schools are operating remotely.
This includes:
- Another $30 million round of grants to licensed childcare providers to help with COVID-19 costs and stabilize the system. Formal family, friends and neighbor providers will receive some funding as well.
- Waiving co-pays for families from October 1 through the end of the year, and capping them at $115 a month until June of 2021.
- Funding for increased costs for full-day care while schools are in distance learning or hybrid models.
- Extra support for families caring for foster children to ensure they can manage dealing with the school and childcare impacts of the pandemic.
Read the full release.
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Are you a minority, veteran or woman-owned business interested in optimizing operational strategies that will create resiliency and sustainability for your business in the face of a global pandemic?
Commerce invites you to join a FREE weekly online training series:
- ScaleUp for minority, veteran & woman-owned businesses: Oct. 8 - Nov. 1
For details on course topics, more information and registration, click here.
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Many people who are not required to file tax returns may still be eligible for Economic Impact Payments. Help spread the word so they register with #IRS for a payment by Oct 15: http://irs.gov/nonfilereip #EIPbyOct15
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Case counts as of October 2, 2020.
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ESSENTIAL LINKS AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
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