See below for today's COVID-19 information. Please forward as widely as you would like.
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It's week two of our Mukilteo Spirit Week! Take your lunch to the lawn and picnic outside!

Our Mukiltean of May 5, 2020 is Adrian Ramirez.

Adrian is the owner of Red Cork Bistro (and Taqueria Puebla in Lynnwood). He is keeping his restaurant open and employees at work, and is connecting in unprecedented ways with our community! Red Cork's social media accounts are always sharing support for other local businesses, #localsupportlocal as his posts say! Adrian is also a dedicated community volunteer with the Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce.

Adrian moved to Mukilteo at age 10 and has been in the restaurant business since he was 17, starting as a dishwasher at Harbour Pointe Golf Club. He became a line cook, and worked his way up into the role of Executive Chef, before he became the owner of the Red Cork in 2016. He is a Kamiak graduate and we are proud to have him still serving our hometown!

As Adrian and the Red Cork say, locals support local- so spend some money at a local business today.... think about celebrating Cinco de Mayo at home!

Do you know someone who deserves to be the Mukiltean of the Day? Nominate them!

Snohomish County Economic Task Force has launched an online Business Needs Assessment Survey. It is an opportunity to share how businesses have been affected by COVID-19. The survey is available in English and Spanish. Answers to the survey will be compiled into a final report that the Economic Task Force will review as they make policy decisions.

Please fill this out, and share the survey with any businesses that you know.

Our neighboring fire agency, South County Fire, has a number of online offerings to increase your preparedness:

Preparedness for Families: Learn how to prepare and care for your family in a disaster in this one-hour video-conference training. Class dates are May 28, June 11 and June 25, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Space is limited. Register at www.southsnofire.org/FamilyPrep.

Kids Fire Academy: Complete our six-week Kids Fire Academy featuring videos and activities to download at www.southsnofire.org/KidsAcademy.

Kids Online Fire Camp: Coming up July 13-17, the Kids Online Fire Camp will feature videos from firefighters and fun hands-on activities you can do at home. Register now at www.southsnofire.org/FireCamp.

The Health District has focused on surveillance testing at several long-term care facilities around the County. Since April 13, staff have completed surveillance testing on nine facilities. Two of those facilities still have results pending.

At the remaining seven, a total of 809 individuals were tested. That included 405 residents and 404 staff tested. Of the residents, 65 were positive (16 percent). There were 35 staff that tested positive (8.7 percent), for a total of 100 out of 809 tests.

The Health District will continue this surveillance testing to facilitate control and prevention of spread in those settings. However, it is important to note that these new cases in long-term care facilities represents approximately one-third of the total new cases per week.

City buildings are now closed through May 31, but we are doing mowing and landscaping starting today, and we reopened parks this morning. Bathrooms are open at Lighthouse Park, no playgrounds open anywhere.

We are looking into ways to allow for spoken public comment at Council meeting, but remember, you can always submit written comment that we will read at the meeting by emailing our Clerk.

Last night, City Councilmember Anna Rohrbough announced that she and her family would be taking advantage of an opportunity and moving out of state. We will begin an appointment process in the next week or so. Councilmember Rohrbough's last meeting will be May 18, and the process will begin after she has officially left her post on May 20. I appreciate her dedication and passion for her service to the City.

If you can, support our Mukilteo Food Bank, and if you can't, don't be afraid to visit them for assistance.

Last week the state distributed an estimated 1.4 million pounds of emergency food to serve 171,086 clients across the state. Food banks also received assistance from more than 600 Washington National Guardsmen who helped box more than 5.2 million pounds of food and assembled more than 230,000 meals. In Snohomish County, we have been able to use volunteers to meet the needs of our local food banks! This is great because it helps reserve the National Guard support for other counties who need the help.

If you have kids, you should have information about school lunch pick-up options. Some districts have added weekend options, too. It makes them happy to keep your kids fed, so be sure to pick up your lunches and ask them about other options.

Everett's Free Meals Coalition also has an updated list of free meals in the area.

The state continues its aggressive procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) but still is not able to bring in enough supply to meet demand. At this level, this type of PPE refers to medical grade masks, gowns and face shields. To date, approximately $9 million worth of PPE ordered has arrived and been accepted, out of the more than $343 million ordered by the state. Because PPE supplies remain limited, state officials continue to prioritize Tier 1 needs which include hospitals, long-term care facilities and first responders. Information about purchasing and distribution of PPE is available on the state’s coronavirus website.

Know before you go – Research the park or public land you plan to travel to. Check their updates frequently to see if restrictions have changed. Playgrounds and campgrounds remain closed until at least May 20, 2020. Do not use parks if you have signs or symptoms of COVID-19.
Stick with your squad – Only recreate, travel in cars/boats/vehicles with those in your immediate household who are not at high risk.
Play prepared – Plan your park outing like you would for a hike. Pack food, water, supplies, hand sanitizer and a cloth facial covering.
No space? Find another place – If you get to your planned recreation destination and it is crowded or looks difficult to maintain social distancing, go to another nearby park or go home so you can stay safe and avoid crowds.
Be considerate of other visitors – Maintain social distancing of 6 feet at all times.
Stay local – Recreate locally - overnight stays such as camping are prohibited. Limited parking will be enforced based on capacity.
Keep it up to keep ‘em open – Recreate responsibly to prevent the spread so we can slow the curve. If the pandemic resurges, parks and restrictions may need to close again.

There is a long list of state parks reopening today that you can find here: https://parks.state.wa.us/1181/Parks-opening
Here are a few highlights nearby(ish): Cama Beach, Camano Island, Centennial Trail, Deception Pass, Fort Ebey, Joseph Whidbey, Lake Sammamish (reduced capacity), Mount Pilchuck, and South Whidbey.

I'm learning new things each day on what our reopening phases mean. Here are some good links to refer to:

Main State Page on Coronavirus(scroll down to "what's new")

Full Safe Start Plan (9 page PDF)

Latest article on Safe Start by the Governor (Medium.com hosts articles from the Governor- this article distills the 9 page PDF into a post.

WA Labor and Industries for business guidance for reopening (this is important, because businesses could be held accountable by L&I for adhering to this guidance as they open). This is where you'll find the grocery and retail guidance, for instance.

Woodland Park Zoo hosts a cute and fun event virtually every Tuesday at 2 p.m. – Super Snack Time! This weekly video includes an animal ambassador from the zoo feeding one of the zoo’s animals a snack and sharing some interesting information during the feeding. This should be a real delight for kids, so grab a snack and enjoy some time with one of the zoo’s stunning and unique critters. It’s a nice way to pass the time while isolating at home. You can watch snack time on the zoo’s Facebook page by clicking this link (past feedings are also archived here).

Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park will reopen on Tuesday. Bathrooms are open only at Lighthouse Park 7am-7pm. Playgrounds remain closed.

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.

Remember the non-emergency number at (425) 407-3999 or email cv19violations@mukilteowa.gov. If you have an emergency, call 911. (But don't call with questions about the Governor's order and what's open or not). You can also report violations or questions about violations to the State via this link.

For more information on city facilities, see this link.

Current case count is 51 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo, with no deaths amongst those cases, and 43 individuals who are recovered. This count has been at 51 since April 20th. Data from today, May 5, marks one more individual recovered.
County case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm.