Here is your Mayor's update, some COVID-19 information, some other useful information! Please forward as widely as you would like.
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Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the pause on counties advancing phases in the state’s Safe Start Plan is extended indefinitely. Inslee pointed to the increase in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, as noted in the most recent statewide situation report, as the reason for the indefinite extension. Gov. Inslee stated, “It is irresponsible to continue opening until we get this virus back under control.”

Here in Mukilteo, I announced on Wednesday afternoon that our staff will continue our current teleworking status until December 31, 2020. This follows a decision by the City of Everett, Port of Everett and Snohomish County. It is possible that Phase 3 or 4 could bring a reopening (or partial reopening) of Rosehill Community Center. However, my best guess is that those phases are many weeks or months away.

Remember, there is no cure yet. Don't believe videos on the internet about that. Today I have more of my medical and science focused resources- those are good places to look for accurate (sometime complicated!) information.

Mukilteo Schools will begin the year in remote learning. The message from Superintendent Brynelson said, "Distance learning in September will look quite different than it looked in the spring. We heard your feedback and are making adjustments and improvements to this learning model. (...) We recognize that distance learning cannot fully meet the unique needs of some students with special needs, English Learners or experiencing homelessness and we are evaluating the extent to which we can safely provide on-site services to students who need them. We are also working with childcare partners to offer options for families."

A number of other schools have announced similar plans, including Edmonds, Everett, and Stanwood-Camano. Most of the rest have upcoming meetings and are likely to announce the online learning plans.

Be careful of heat stress. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health encourages employers to provide training to workers so they understand what heat stress is, how it affects their health and safety, and how it can be prevented. This includes training around working while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE). Keep this in mind when out in the heat with your mask on. Here are warning signs of heat-related illness, from the CDC.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to warn consumers and health care professionals not to use certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers due to the dangerous presence of methanol, or wood alcohol – a substance often used to create fuel and antifreeze that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin as well as life-threatening when ingested. The agency has posted a do-not-use list of dangerous hand sanitizer products, which is updated regularly.

The State Emergency Management Division is seeking your input on the impacts of #COVID19. State and local health officials have a new survey to assess the behavioral, economic, social and emotional impacts as well as the needs of communities across the state as a result of the #COVID19 outbreak. To access the survey, go to www.wacoronasurvey.com. To take the survey by phone, call 855-530-5787 —interpreters are available to assist.
I took the survey-- it's a tad long but don't let that dissuade you. It's mobile friendly, too, so do it on your phone next time you find yourself gazing at your phone without purpose (or is that just me who does that...).

If you respond online at 2020census.gov or by phone at 844-330-2020 today, a census taker is less likely to have to visit your home to collect your response.

Employees from the Census will start following up with residents that have not completed their 2020 Census this week. Their goal is to help you and everyone in your home be counted in the 2020 Census. If the census taker who visits your home does not speak your language, you may request a return visit from a census taker who does speak your language.
If no one is home when the census taker visits, the census taker will leave a notice of their visit with information about how to respond online, by phone or by mail.
All Census takers complete training including COVID-19 protocols prior to visiting any homes. Census workers will be wearing face coverings and will follow all local public health guidelines. Census takers will also be wearing or carrying officially issued Census identification with their photo, a U.S. Department of Commerce watermark, and an expiration date. If you are not sure if the person who showed up at your house is a Census employee please call the Census at 1-800-992-3530. See below for information about census scams (a bigger PDF version is here).

COVID Research

Moderna and Pfizer and BioNTech have entered the final step of testing. Most of the COVID-19 vaccines tested to date have had noteworthy levels of side effects, particularly headache, fatigue, and malaise. However, for most people, the side effects should pale in comparison to the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed 292 COVID-19 patients who had a positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and found that symptoms persisted at least two to three weeks in 20% of symptomatic adults. The respondents were outpatients who were not sick enough to justify hospitalization. The symptoms likely to persist included cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath.

ABC News and FiveThirtyEight reveal that testing sites in communities of color in major cities face higher demand for testing, and therefore significantly more delays, than do sites in predominantly White and wealthier areas of those same cities.

COVID Guidance and Other Information

The CDC issued new guidelines stipulating that COVID-19 patients can resume normal activity after 10 days if they are no longer symptomatic. (New York Times)

Curious about contact tracing? This article covers how it really works when you get a call.

Some things for us to think about, as well, in this Washington Post article: How California went from coronavirus success story to disaster — and how it can regain control.

Vox: How the Navajo Nation slowed one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the US... using masks. I appreciated this part: "In our society, we value our elders and we let people know they are warriors, and they are supposed to protect their families — in this case, to shield their elders, who have traditional and cultural knowledge for the future of our people."

School Reopening

Snohomish Health District recommends that all of our county schools provide remote instruction for the fall (their news release is here). Part of their announcement: "While school-age children are not typically a high-risk population for this illness, there are many staff and some students who are particularly vulnerable to severe illness due to COVID-19 because of age or underlying medical conditions. It also is important to remember that even otherwise healthy staff and students can have serious and long-lasting complications from a COVID-19 infection, and that transmission in schools may amplify transmission in the community."

The risks of reopening schools are likely higher for teenagers and young adults. A high school in Israel that allowed students to stop wearing masks during a heat wave had a major outbreak infecting 153 students and 25 staff after initially finding two infected students. Debates also continue on whether universities should open in the fall, and if they do, how they should approach testing before and after people arrive on campus . The National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted a conversation with several governmental and institutional leaders to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and capacity to reopen universities using surveillance and testing techniques.

Play the Google game "Coding for Carrots!" It was first released as a way to celebrate 50 years of kids coding during Computer Science Education Week. Here’s how Coding for Carrots works: Players have to help a bunny collect carrots by using coding techniques such as connecting blocks of computer code together. Here's a link to the game.

Second awesome google game, a music composition tool. To celebrate influential filmmaker and visual artist Oskar Fischinger’s 117th birthday in June, 2017, Google released an interactive music composition tool. Check it out here.

All reopening guidelines can be found here. Some have changed recently- especially the restaurant, bars and wedding ones.

Locally, Everett's Getting to Safe Guide is a great resource.

Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park reopened on May 5. Bathrooms are open only at Lighthouse Park 7am-7pm. Playgrounds remain closed until either Phase 3 or when we have full staffing and ability to clean daily.

Trails and sidewalks continue to be open for your physical activity! Please respect physical distance of six feet.

All City Facilities closure: City operations will continue via primarily phone, email and online. The public is encouraged to call (425) 263-8000 for assistance with City services or visit our website at www.mukilteowa.gov. Government services are not slated to reopen until Phase 3 of the new reopening plan, which is mid-June at the earliest.

For more information on city facilities, see this link.

Current case count is 95 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo (another 4 new cases), and 75 individuals who are recovered (3 new recoveries).

County case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm City counts will be updated weekly starting today.

City of Mukilteo COVID-19 page

Snohomish Health District
Washington State Department of Health
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
COVID-19 Testing Guidelines from Public Health – Seattle & King County
Find information in other languages
Washington State COVID-19 Response

What to do if you are sick: CDC Resources

Watch out for COVID related scams. If you are unsure about whether something is real or a scam, the Justice Department created a central fraud hotline (1-866-720-5721 or disaster@leo.gov). You can also call the non-emergency line at 425-407-3999.