October 13, 2020
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Up-to-date information on the Snohomish County COVID-19 response from the Joint Information Center. October 13, 2020 Federal funding ‘critical’ to COVID-19 response, county leaders say If federal CARES Act dollars are not extended beyond the end of 2020, it could significantly impact the ongoing COVID-19 emergency response efforts locally, county leaders told reporters during a virtual news briefing Tuesday morning. Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Snohomish County Emergency Management Director Jason Biermann, Snohomish County Councilmember and Board of Health Chair Stephanie Wright, and Snohomish Health District Administrative Officer Shawn Frederick provided updates during the briefing. They described the local work that has been supported by the CARES Act. This includes operations for the isolation and quarantine center, the drive-thru testing site, expanded contact tracing and disease investigation efforts, purchasing personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and first responders, and providing food to vulnerable residents through the Nourishing Neighborhoods program. “In that body of work, it’s our testing, it’s the contact tracers, the additional case investigators we’ve brought on board, but it’s also those teams that we have working with our employers and schools to quickly handle cases to keep people as operational as possible,” said Frederick, the Health District administrative officer. Chairperson Wright urged people to contact their U.S. senators and representatives to encourage extending the CARES Act funding. “Without the capacity to effectively track and investigate cases, to support testing efforts, and to work with partners around the region, our communities, businesses, schools and children will pay the price,” she said. Executive Somers said the county does not have the financial capacity to continue many of the programs funded by CARES dollars, at least not at the current levels. The money from Congress has been “critical in helping us respond.” Biermann, the emergency management director, agreed. “There would be profound impacts to our response kind of across the board with everything we’ve been doing to support the community,” he said. Watch the full briefing here: https://youtu.be/zysesUhb45U Or read the transcript: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/5203/october-13-2020-briefing Schools urged to pause on plans for more in-person instruction as COVID cases climb Superintendents at school districts in Snohomish County are being urged to pause on any plans to expand in-person learning opportunities. The reason: a new rolling two-week case rate that shows the county at 71.8 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, which is a sharp increase from previous weeks. Dr. Chris Spitters, Health Officer at the Snohomish Health District, on Monday emailed guidance to school leaders asking them to not move ahead now on any plans to bring in additional students. He also stressed that, at this time, there is no need to go backward at schools that have started to bring in students in kindergarten to third grade, or those with special needs. Shawn Frederick, Administrative Officer for the Health District, told a virtual press conference Tuesday that the rising COVID cases appear to be the result of too many people choosing to gather in close settings, particularly without wearing face coverings. “Our staff are inundated with reports of 50 to 70 new cases each day, and given this new case rate and how close it is to the 75 per 100,000 threshold for high risk in the Department of Health decision tree for schools, Dr. Spitters did have guidance that was shared with the schools yesterday,” he said. Schools “don’t need to move backwards if they’ve started to bring special needs students and students in grades K-3 back, but they shouldn’t bring any additional students in at this time,” Frederick added. “We’ll monitor daily case counts this week and see what next Monday’s new case rate is and then talk with the schools again during our bi-weekly call next Tuesday on Oct. 20.” Snohomish County COVID-19 case rates continue to increase In the last three weeks, Snohomish County has seen an increase from about 42 COVID cases per 100,000 population to 72 cases per 100,000. We can all do our part to help fight this third wave of COVID-19. Wear a mask Keep your distance from people you don’t live with Avoid large gatherings Wash your hands Stay home and away from others if you are sick You can find more COVID-19 data in our weekly reports and snapshots at www.snohd.org/casecounts Latest snapshot: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/5189/Data_Snapshot_2020_Oct-12 Latest weekly report: https://www.snohd.org/DocumentCenter/View/5188/Weekly_rpt_10032020 USDA extends free meals for kids through the school year U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is extending flexibilities to allow free meals to continue to be available to all children throughout the entire 2020-2021 school year. This unprecedented move is part of USDA’s unwavering commitment to ensuring all children across America have access to nutritious food as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. “As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the school year wherever they are, and however they are learning,” said Secretary Perdue. “We are grateful for the heroic efforts by our school food service professionals who are consistently serving healthy meals to kids during these trying times, and we know they need maximum flexibility right now. I appreciate President Trump for his unwavering commitment to ensuring kids receive the food they need during this pandemic and for supporting USDA in continuing to provide these unprecedented flexibilities.” For more information, read the full press release. Phone reassurance program available for dementia caregivers during COVID The COVID Listen Line is a phone reassurance program in Snohomish County for family caregivers supporting a loved one with dementia. Many are facing increased stress and isolation due to the pandemic. Call to: Have a casual and friendly conversation with someone who understands what you’re going through. Talk about how things are going for you during the pandemic and connect to resources as needed. Discuss coping strategies and ways to focus on your health and mental health during this difficult time. COVID Listen Line (206) 529-3890 Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EvCC president featured in #MaskUpMonday video The Joint Information Center has been working with #MaskUpWa and Restart Us to encourage the creation and sharing of videos explaining why people in Snohomish County are wearing face coverings. The videos are posted on #MaskMonday. "I wear a mask to keep my family, campus, and community healthy. Plus, it adds to my wardrobe," Everett Community College President Dr. Daria Willis said in the latest installment. Facebook Twitter State urges homeowners to check mortgage if not making payments during COVID-19 The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) wants you to understand your mortgage status if you have not been making payments after being financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For starters, make sure you know whether you are in forbearance status or if your lender/servicer considers you to be in default and intends to begin the foreclosure process when the foreclosure moratorium ends. If you need help understanding the language used in your mortgage documents, the Washington Homeownership Resource Center offers resources to help you do that at http://www.homeownership-wa.org/managing-your-mortgage If you have a forbearance, it’s going to expire at some point and the missed payments will have to be made up. When it ends depends on a number of factors, including: who owns your loan (the Federal Housing Finance Administration [Fannie, Freddie], HUD, or a private investor), what your current and expected income situation is, and the specific terms of your loan. There are many homeowners in forbearance and loan servicers for all loan types are working to address inquiries from borrowers. Take some time now to carefully review your mortgage statements and any communications you have received from your servicer. Go to their web page to see if they provide information about repayment options following forbearance. Talk to a housing counselor by calling the Washington Homeownership Hotline at 1-877-894-HOME (4663) for specific assistance with your mortgage and your circumstances. Talk to DFI’s Mortgage Assistance Team at 1- 877-RING-DFI (746-4334) to get assistance with how best to contact your mortgage servicer, and to learn more about your options. See these resources and more on DFI’s web page on COVID-19 Mortgage Assistance for Washington Residents Inslee issues proclamation establishing safety guidelines for behavioral health facilities Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation establishing safety guidelines for behavioral health facilities. The proclamation is as follows: Behavioral Health Association, Children’s Long-Term Inpatient Program and Residential Treatment Facilities – Operations and Visitation (20-74): This proclamation establishes updated guidelines for the safe operations of behavioral health facilities, including residential treatment facilities, 24/7 facilities, and Children’s Long-Term Inpatient Programs (CLIP). Among other things, these guidelines, similar to the guidelines issued for long-term care facilities, allow for visitation to occur between residents and family members, subject to the use of all appropriate safety and health protocols. This proclamation is effective until November 9, 2020. Read the full proclamation here. Businesses face fines for coronavirus mask violations, but most are complying A handful of businesses are facing fines for violations related to lack of mask use by customers and staff.