Vashon Situation Report - 11 March 24, 2020 Latest updates Italics and in blue text Virus Statistics As of March 24th according to Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) no resident of Vashon Island (98070 or 98013 zip codes) has been confirmed with the COVID-19 virus. PHSKC reports as of March 24th that there are 1224 confirmed COVID-19 cases and a total of 93 reported deaths in King County. Washington State Department of Health reports that as of March 23rd, 93% of tests statewide have been negative for the virus (total of 31,712 negatives). PHSKC estimates regionally that the number of COVID cases will double every 5 to 7 days. Significant Developments Governor Inslee has issued a Stay Home, Stay Healthy order last night for all residents in non-essential activities. Essential service remain open, such as grocery stores and it is okay to go out to access these services. The Governor has designated a list of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers”. The full order can be found here or visit https://coronavirus.wa.gov/whats-open-and-closed WA Department of Highways announced that the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge is closed due to accelerated concrete cracking that was monitored during a regular bridge inspection. The bridge will remain closed until further notice. All vehicles will be prohibited from crossing the high-rise span of the bridge between I-5 and Fauntleroy Way SW. Buses, freight and emergency vehicles will be moved to Spokane Street Bridge, which is also called the “low bridge.” Motorists should use the First Ave or South Park bridges. For more information see the SDOT website URL below: https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2020/03/23/traffic-advisory-west-seattle-high-rise-bridge-will-close-tonight- at-7pm/ King County Metro announced that beginning immediately, and continuing until further notice, Metro routes 21 Local, 21 Express, 37, 50, 55, 56, 57, 116, 118, 119, 120, 125 and the RapidRide C Line are rerouted off the West Seattle Bridge high rise level due to the need for evaluation and probable repair work. During this time, these routes are traveling instead via the lower level SW Spokane St Bridge. VISD distributed more than 220 daily meals under the Grab-n-Go school meal program. Neighborcare has closed its School-based Health Center. If you need to reach someone from the Neighborcare Health School-based Health Program, contact [email protected]. If you need medication refills, call the primary care clinic at 206-463-3671. Fern Cove Natural Medicine is open and offering telemedicine appointments Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm. Page 1 of 11 Granny’s Attic remains closed for the foreseeable future in accordance with the Governor’s guidelines. They request that people not drop donations off during the closure since no one is there to process the items. The American Red Cross faces a severe blood shortage due to an unprecedented number of blood drive cancellations during this coronavirus outbreak. If you are healthy and feeling well, you can make an appointment to donate this week by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Holding or attending blood drives does not violate the Stay At Home order. Pierce Transit is operating as normal except fare collection has been suspended and customers are asked to board buses using rear doors. King County Parks has closed all playgrounds, sports courts, picnic shelters, and other active recreation facilities that would attract groups of people to the public. Trails, ballfields and playfields are open for walking and other non-team activities if users comply with social distancing guidelines. Governor Inslee announced that over the weekend medical protection devices arrived for health care workers and first responders, including 1,600,000 N95 masks, 560,000 surgical masks, 12 million disposable gloves and 650,000 disposable gowns. Vashon Emergency Operations Center has submitted a request to receive some of this medical protection equipment. The WSF Call Center will begin operating with limited service on Monday, March 23, Agents will be working remotely. However, agents will not have the ability to take credit card numbers over the phone, so they will not be able to make reservations or assist customers with ticket purchases. Customers can still call 206-464-6400 call center during its regular hours 7 am to 5:30 pm. PHSKC urges everyone to practice social distancing. Updates: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020/March/22-covid.aspx PHSKC has issued updated guidance for grocery stores. For your safety make sure the store you are using is following the health recommendations. www.kingcounty.gov/covid/grocery King County Metro announced that riders will not be required to pay fares on buses or Water Taxi. Vashon bus routes will not have service changes. County Executive Dow Constantine has ordered Metro to reduce service or hours of operation on many routes throughout the County. These changes will be effective on Monday March 23rd, two days after the normal shift to the spring service schedules begin on Saturday March 21st. King County Water Taxi will postpone the upcoming scheduled seasonal change and remain on the winter schedule until at least April 20th. Vashon Island Fire and Rescue (VIFR) is open and responding to fire and emergency medical needs of the Island. If you have an emergency call 911. Also consider signing up for Smart 911, especially if you use a cell phone, which may not give Call Takers correct locational information. Sign up at https://smart911.com/ VIFR has suspended public access to the fire station until April 30th, although will continue to perform routine blood pressure checks and respond to emergent life safety questions if the first responders are at the stations. Please feel free to knock on the door or ring the doorbell for assistance or call (206) 463- 2405, if you have further questions. Page 2 of 11 Washington Health Plan Finder has a special enrollment period now available through April 8, 2020 to qualified individuals who are uninsured. Apple Health enrollment is year round. Assistance with plans and enrollment is available M-F 7:30-5:30 at 855-923-4633, TTY 855-627-9604 or at www.wahealthplanfinder.org Emergency Support Branch has been advancing toward getting testing on the island and supporting medical providers and caregivers with masks. Details in the section Progress on Community Support Operations. Blood Drive on April 2nd 12 spaces still available from 3:35 - 5:10 location at Vashon Lutheran Church- Vashon Rotary, 18623 Vashon Highway SE. Make appointments at https://schedule.bloodworksnw.org/DonorPortal/Schedule/TimeSelect.aspx or call 800-398-7888. This blood drive is badly needed since blood supplies are down as people avoid drives. Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 has a helpline to answer questions about COVID-19, 800-525-0127 See below information on restaurants offering takeout and delivery. Also see below lists of other island closings and status updates. Progress on Community Support Operations Medical Support Branch: The Vashon Medical Reserve Corps effort to provide on-island COVID-19 testing continues with daily planning meetings and work towards getting proper authorization to proceed if medically appropriate to do so. Planning and recruiting began today for a mental health support resource to help people deal with stress from the COVID-19 crisis. The Branch is working with Logistics Section to obtain masks for island clinics and caregivers. Potential sources include an inbound donation from an Island resident who has connections with overseas manufacturing, a request through King County for an allocation from the large shipment now arriving in the state, and a team of Vashon seamstresses who want to sew masks to a pattern meeting a published standard, although they will not be medical grade N95 respirators. Planning has started for dealing with a worst case scenario where mainland medical care would be overwhelmed and what to do about it on Vashon. Community Support Branch: Launched a planning effort with the Food Bank to be ready for significant expansion of home deliveries if the virus causes the anticipated increase in home isolation. Working with social service agencies on the island, such as the Senior Center, to contact members and assess their needs to support planning of services. A weekly planning meeting has been put on the calendar for this coordination effort. Community Support, Displaced Worker Support and Business Support Branches coordinating on ways for those in need to access emergency funding. Displaced Worker Branch: Arranged for phone consultation capability for displaced workers who need to resolve health insurance needs and information on accessing the service will be published within a few days. Collected, researched and curated a list of local, county, state and federal resources available to displaced workers facing problems due to lost jobs or incomes and it has gone to Public Information unit for publishing later this week. Developed an estimate of scale of need in our community (how many, how much) in order to measure the gap between needs and available financial resources to support planning efforts. Page 3 of 11 Business Support Branch: Business Support Branch: Emailed a survey today to nearly 300 island businesses to establish a baseline of economic impact of the virus so far as a guide to planning response. Ongoing collection of business continuity and support ideas from other Chamber of Commerce organizations. Coordination with Displaced Workers Support Branch and Community Support Branch to facilitate assistance to employees of island businesses. Design work underway on a "Shop Vashon" campaign.