See below for today's COVID-19 information. Please forward as widely as you would like.
I want to hear from you, contact me anytime.

Make sure to complete the census! 2020census.gov.

I was able to participate in a call with the Governor, State Health leaders and mayors from all cities in the state. My takeaways:

Snohomish County is doing the best; King County is not decreasing very quickly but showing some positive signs. Some counties in eastern Washington are several weeks behind (and these decisions will all be statewide).
The State's website with data is good place if you want to investigate stats on your own and make your own guesses. Ignore the last 7 days.

Next section below includes more of my notes from the call:

Sometime soon (May 4? May 12? My guesses), certain sectors will reopen (the Governor specifically mentioned construction and retail as sectors they are in talks with).
People will be wearing masks, vulnerable populations will be told to still stay home. We will be in a constant state of reconsideration of closure, for 12 months.

What do "Modified Community Mitigation Measures" look like after reopening?
* Continued physical distancing, hygiene and environmental sanitation
* Employee screening
* Establish clearly defined measures using reliable timely data so that we can re-institute more restrictive community mitigation measures if necessary
* Vulnerable adults will be told to still stay home
* Others, maximize physical distance
* Limit social settings to groups of less than 10
* Think very carefully about when we open large venues
* No gyms, no bars, some elective surgeries on an out-patient basis
* No visitors to senior facilities or hospitals
* No Organized youth activities
* Large venues under strict physical distance- dining, movies, sports, places of worship
* Continue telework, return to work in phases, close common areas, minimize non-essential travel

If you are self-employed, an independent contractor, a part-time worker who was ineligible for regular unemployment benefits or someone that works with a business that does not report your wages and hours to ESD, you will be able to access the new application now. Look for eligibility details, application instructions and more resources on their website.

The Health District posted some guidelines for businesses as they begin to think about reopening. More information is here.
Here are some highlights:
* If telework is an option, promote and encourage that as much as possible.
* Evaluate options for staggered shifts to reduce the number of employees in an area at a given time.
* Ensure that employees will perform self-health checks before coming to work.
* If an employee becomes unwell during the work day, have plans send them home immediately.
* Understand that cloth face coverings will be a new normal for a while, especially where physical separation cannot be maintained for an extended period.
* Encourage employees to wash hands prior to leaving work and again upon arriving home.
* Changing and laundering clothes, or showering after working, are other good practices.
* Review more suggestions in Pandemic Planning Guide for Businesses.

These are recommendations for business planning. It is not a signal for the broader community to begin hosting playdates, visiting with friends or family, etc. Snohomish County and Washington still remain under a Stay Home, Stay Healthy order.

King County Public Health posted an article about how decisions about closures are made. I read this in the context of the phase we are moving into. When we hear about contact tracing, it is clear that that will change how we communicate about COVID-19. When one person is diagnosed, and the Public Health District institutes contact tracing, that means within 48 hours all of the people they have been in close contact with (less than 6 feet for more than 10 minutes) will be contacted. However, it won't be something is broadcast. Even if it is a contact that happens in a workplace, if you are not part of that close contact group, you may not hear about the case. That is not something to be afraid of, but it will feel different than our current situation, I think.

Check out John Krasinski's Some Good News tonight for his 2020 Prom special with some exciting guests!

Seattle Symphony Brahms performance on facebook livetoday at 2pm.

Ballard's opera manperforming his front yard each day.

All parks are closed except for 76th Street/Community Garden entrance to Japanese Gulch for trail access. If you want to access Big Gulch, I would encourage you to park at the library, rather than on the street near 92nd Street Park.

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.

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 49 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo, with no deaths amongst those cases. County case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm.

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.