“COVID-19 Community Conversations” Round Three

— from Brendan Cowan for Department of Emergency Management —

This week “COVID-19 Community Conversations” continues with three short videos that highlight efforts from organizations and people providing key services and crucial leadership in our community.

You can find these videos on our YouTube channel “San Juan County COVID-19 Response.”

Jamie Stephens, San Juan County Council Member (Lopez and Shaw): Stephens takes a moment to update the public about the work he is involved in regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are running a radio ad campaign in the Seattle area to discourage travel to the San Juans. These
programs seem to be helping. Ferry traffic is 33% of normal.” He also discusses funding for health services, meals programs, testing issues, economic issues, and more. “Please fill out your census form! The information gathered by the census determines funding… for many services.”

Kristen Rezabek, Health & Nutrition Coordinator for the San Juan County Health and Community Services: Rezabek takes a moment to talk about how to access various health services during the COVID-19 pandemic from maternity support services, to food access, to immunizations and more. “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children under the age of two continue with their immunizations… we want to make sure that during the COVID-19 pandemic we strive to prevent outbreaks of vaccine preventable illnesses.”

Mike Sharadin, Owner of Mike’s Café and Wine Bar in Friday Harbor: Many small businesses are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, so we thought we’d share the experience of one small business. “We’re at about 5 employees part time as we go through this… in the summer we usually
have over 30 employees.” He noted the addition of safety precautions, then added, “In the restaurant business we have a fairly robust set of protocols to keep your food safe already.” He closed by discussing long-term prospects saying, “I think you focus on what you can control.”