Recap of COVID-19 news and updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Numbers: As of 11:59 p.m. on May 6, there are 16,231confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington state, an increase of 326 cases in the last 24 hours. Visit the Department of Health’s website for cases by county, demographics, and more.  

Governor’s Office Updates

Governor’s proclamation regarding state collective bargaining agreements: This proclamation waives/suspends statutes related to the funding process for certain collective bargaining agreements to enable OFM to use federal funding to address increased COVID-related costs for certain represented employees. Current law may require that funding not be provided until after the next legislative session, however the increased costs and need for funding exists now. In addition, if current law is not temporarily waived, the federal funding sources might not be available after the next legislative session. This waiver will not obligate the state for future costs and is time limited. Read the full proclamation here. 

Risk-Assessment Dashboard Update:  Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Department of Health released an update today to the Risk-Assessment Dashboard. This tool helps gauge when and how to best lift restrictions around ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy” in Washington. The dashboard features five “dials” measuring different data points in the state. The public can view the data guiding the state’s ongoing discussions on recovery planning by visiting coronavirus.wa.gov.  The dials will be updated each week on Wednesdays.  

Automated Car wash services: New guidelines outline how to safely operate and access automated car wash services. Click here for more information.  

Statewide Response Updates 

Daily Bulletins move to weekday-only schedule: Moving forward, the state Joint Information Center will send bulletins on weekdays only. We are here to support you and you can continue to reach us at wajic@mil.wa.gov. 

Health system response management, led by Vice Admiral (ret.) Raquel Bono, MD: State and hospital health care leaders are focused on preparing the system for a possible resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the fall, when the influenza season also typically begins. Preparations include the adoption and refinement of a new “WA HEALTH” platform, which provides a state-wide dashboard view of bed, ICU, PPE and ventilator availability.  Today, the governor’s office released an updated interpretive statement with clarifying language about the reopening of non-urgent surgeries. 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) update: The state continues its aggressive procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE). For the first time this week, limited distributions beyond tier 1 have been possible primarily to over-supply of some very specific item types within broad categories – KN95 respirator masks, surgical masks, and some types and sizes of gloves and gowns – rather than adequate and sustainable supplies across categories. The state is working to expand access to PPE products and supplies so we can better address tier 2 through 4 needs as well as begin to address longer-term, ongoing needs of others at high risk. Purchases are the primary way the state has secured PPE, accounting for more than 80 percent of items received so far – a percentage that is growing. Most of what has been ordered is still on the way. As of today, the state has distributed more than 18.8 million PPE items, including 6.8 million items distributed in the past couple of days – up from a total of about 6 million items distributed overall three weeks ago. Information about purchasing and distribution of PPE is available on the state’s coronavirus website and as part of the available data on the Governor’s Risk-Assessment Dashboard. 

COVID Response telebriefing link available: This video from Tuesday, May 5, provides an update on several issues regarding the Washington State COVID-19 response. The topics include; a general update from the Office of the Governor, hospitalization trends, a PowerPoint presentation on epidemiology, testing, and personal protective equipment (PPE). A question and answer session with local media follows the brief presentation.  Click here for a link to the video.  

Health Care Authority secures funding to significantly expand services: The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) has secured more than $4 million in federal funding to respond to increased behavioral health service needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for behavioral health services is anticipated to grow during COVID-19 pandemic. The new funding will assist in expanding crisis counseling support and treatment for substance use disorder. Click here for more information.  

Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner has updated the following frequently asked questions documents:

• Health insurance and coronavirus
• Emergency Order 20-03 to all property and casualty insurers to allow policyholders a grace period for payments and protect them from policy cancellations.

Grieving while Social Distancing: Losing someone you love is always difficult. And losing someone while your life is already turned upside down by a pandemic can intensify your grief, creating more complicated, or traumatic, grief. This makes it even more difficult to heal. A When Grief Becomes More than Grieving blog offers information about how to recognize signs that grief is more complex and that it may be time to ask for help. 

Serve Washington Volunteer options: The need for volunteers has never been greater, and the time to get involved has never been better. Finding the opportunity that best suits your skills, availability, and expectations can make all the difference in your experience. Volunteering can open your mind, your heart, your hands to helping your community and building a better future for all of us. Help out once, help out once a week. Be a part of a great community and a tremendous state! We encourage you to explore different ways to volunteer. Healthy individuals, follow health official guidance and contact any organization before volunteering. Click here for more information 

WiFi Hotspots connect Washington: Launching primarily as parking lot hotspots in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the free community Wi-Fi is accessible regardless of how users arrive at the locations. Some sites also offer indoor public access during business hours. Everyone using the sites – outside or inside – must practice social distancing and hygiene precautions, including staying in your vehicle or at least six feet from other users and wearing a mask if necessary. To date, 140 of the new drive-in hotspots are operational, in addition to 301 existing Washington State Library hotspots identified across the state. All told, some 600 public hotspots will soon be available to keep Washington communities connected.  For complete information and a map of locations, visit www.driveinwifi.wa.gov. The map will be updated as more sites come online 

Statewide news items  

Business and Workers weekly newsletter: This edition includes information on the governor’s Safe Start recovery plan, new resources and information on the unemployment benefits adjudication process from the Employment Security Department, and an update on outreach by the JIC Business Economic Resiliency Team. Click here to access the newletter. 

10 Reasons NOT to have a “COVID-19 Party”: Have you heard of “chickenpox parties”? Before there was an effective vaccine, sometimes people brought their kids together to play with a child who was sick with chickenpox so they could try to control when their child got chickenpox and recovered. Even for chickenpox, this was not a great idea, but purposely exposing yourself or others to COVID-19 is a truly terrible idea. Read the full article.

Resources  

TVW: Find links to past and future coverage regarding COVID-19 and resources from TVW’s partners at https://www.tvw.org/covid-19/  

Washington 211 COVID-19 Call Center: Do you need information or answers to your questions and concerns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? You can call 1-800-525-0127 or text 211-211 for help. You can also text the word “Coronavirus” to 211-211 to receive information and updates on your phone wherever you are. You will receive links to the latest information on COVID-19, including county-level updates, and resources for families, businesses, students, and more.  

Interested in volunteering during disasters and significant events like COVID-19? Register with the Washington State Emergency Registry of Volunteers (WAserv) to partner with public health and others who need assistance in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay Home Stay Healthy order blog now available in Spanish: Click here for link.