Snohomish County Council Chair Stephanie Wright and Vice Chair Megan Dunn co-hosted a regional town hall meeting regarding COVID-19 vaccines and distribution on Tuesday, March 2.
The event, was livestreamed and can be viewed online.
Opening remarks were from County Executive Dave Somers. Panelists included Emergency Management Director Jason Biermann, Rochelle Lubbers of the Tulalip Tribes, and Dr. Chris Spitters and Shawn Frederick from Snohomish Health District.
Snohomish County has seen another slight decrease in COVID case rates, to 109 per 100,000. Let’s make sure we don’t lose that momentum. We don’t want to plateau near 100 cases per 100,000.
Wear your mask, watch your distance and wash your hands to help keep driving the case rate down.
With the support of Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Snohomish County Council Chair Stephanie Wright, and Vice Chair Megan Dunn, Snohomish County distributed $415,000 of CARES act funding to three of its Public Facilities Districts for COVID-19 related improvements to help prepare the public buildings for reopening.
These public facilities are essential to the economic health of the region and the quality of life for Snohomish County residents, since hotels, restaurants and other businesses depend on the success of the facilities. Angel Of The Winds Arena, Lynnwood Convention Center, and Edmonds Center for the Arts are responsible for $78 million in annual economic impact in Snohomish County.
With the economy suffering from COVID-19 restrictions, Snohomish County’s funding will ensure these facilities will be ready to open as soon as it is safe to do so.
“We care deeply for our community’s health as well as prosperity. We are grateful to Snohomish County for recognizing the need for these improvements to allow us to safely reopen and serve the public both economically and by enhancing quality of life,” Gary Weikel, President of the Everett Public Facilities District said of the contribution.
The $415,000 CARES grant provided funding during a time when a full shutdown of these buildings has caused a loss of traditional revenue. Highlights of improvements include:
- Everett Public Facilities District installed state-of-the-art active air purification devices into the ventilation system across Angel Of The Winds Arena, Everett Community Ice Rink and Edward D. Hansen Conference Center to assist in preventing airborne and surface spread of COVID-19 and other airborne pathogens.
- Lynnwood Public Facilities District upgraded their air filters and purchased equipment and supplies to make catered food service more touchless to reduce potential transmission of COVID-19.
- Edmonds Public Facilities District modified its patron flow to allow for distancing of guests, upgraded restrooms with touchless fixtures and added HEPA air filtration to its performer dressing rooms while assessing and improving the air filtration system throughout the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
All teachers and licensed child care workers in Washington are now eligible for COVID vaccines.
Effective immediately, educators, including preschool instructors, have been moved into the first tier of the state’s phase 1B, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday. They join health care workers; long-term care residents and staff; people over 65; and those 50 and older in multigenerational households.
“The good news is that schools will be able to open and we are pleased that teachers will be back in the classroom,” Inslee said in a news release. “This should give educators more confidence to return to in-person learning and that it can be done with the safety protocols that are being used by 1,400 other schools in our state right now.”
And eligibility could soon follow for grocery store staff, farm workers, food processors and bus drivers, corrections workers and others who work at congregate settings, the governor added.
The decision came shortly after President Joe Biden told governors that states need to start getting doses to educators soon. The president also announced the country will have enough doses for every adult by the end of May, adding all educators should get at least one shot by the end of the month. However, unless supplies significantly increase, demand for vaccines will only increase the difficulty of securing a vaccine appointment.
For the full text of the article follow this link: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/governor-educators-are-now-eligible-for-coronavirus-vaccine/
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