Rundown of today’s COVID-19 news, updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported 584 new cases in the past day for a total of  63,647 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on August 9. There have been 1,697 COVID-19 deaths in Washington.

For the most recent tally of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health’s dashboard and the state’s COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard.

Wildland firefighter tests positive for COVID-19; highlights need for Washingtonians to take fire prevention precautions. Over the weekend, an asymptomatic firefighter who had been serving at a fire camp tested positive for COVID-19. The firefighter from the state Department of Natural Resources was part of the interagency team responding to the Anglin Fire near Tonasket.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, leader of Washington state’s wildfire fighting force, reminded Washingtonians to take seriously efforts to protect firefighters by reducing COVID-19 spread and preventing human-caused wildfires.

“I urge each of us to recommit to doing all we can to protect our firefighters. That means practicing social distancing and wearing a mask so that our firefighters do not catch the virus when they are not on the fire lines. And that also means abiding by burn bans and taking precautions not to start fires. Each time our firefighters respond to a fire, they are at risk of COVID-19 spreading amongst them. While the exposure to others was limited in the cases so far, it could be far worse next time.”

Precautions to reduce human-caused fires include heeding burn bans, not leaving flammable material like trash or derelict vehicles on the landscape, and not using incendiary devices of any kind while recreating on forestlands.

Read the full release here.

DOH launches COVID-19 farmworker study. (El estudio COVID-19 de trabajadores agrícolas). DOH’s COVID-19 Community Engagement Taskforce is an effort to provide timely, accurate, culturally and linguistically appropriate, and community-centric information and resources to vulnerable, marginalized, and most impacted communities statewide. 

In April, the taskforce began participating in the research design for what would become the COVID-19 Farmworker Study (COFS). COFS is a collaborative tri-state research project coordinated by the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS) to provide a rapid response analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on farmworker communities throughout the U.S. West coast. This past week, the California research team revealed a preliminary data summary of the 911 surveys of California farmworkers completed on July 24, 2020.

Preliminary findings from California show that contrary to popular opinions about behavior, the majority of farmworkers do wear facemasks. The data also begins to illustrate the transformation of an entire industry due to COVID-19. Click here to view a video on the COFS project.

The Washington COFS data collection team will begin to collect surveys of farmworkers throughout the state this month. If you are a farmworker or can refer farmworkers to participate in the study, please contact CETF team member Tomás Madrigal at Tomas.Madrigal@doh.wa.gov. Farmworker participants will be surveyed by promotoras (community health workers) from farmworker serving community based organizations that are part of the project’s data team. They are also eligible for a $20 incentive for their time and participation.

Read DOH’s story about the project here.

Resources

Washington 211 COVID-19 call center is a general information line related to COVID-19. If you need information or have a general question, 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.

Washington Listens helps people manage stress and anxiety they may be experiencing because of COVID-19. If you or anyone you know is having difficulties managing stress, call the Washington Listens support line at 1-833-681-0211. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. TTY and language access services are available by using 7-1-1 or their preferred method. Resources and self-help tips are available on walistens.org.

Want to help? Join the Washington Mask Challenge. The Lt. Governor’s office has partnered with the United Ways of the Pacific Northwest and Serve Washington to organize a statewide homemade mask-making initiative to encourage the general public to make, wear, and donate cloth masks. Visit www.wamaskchallenge.org for information.