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Here is my daily update, some COVID-19 information, some other useful information! Please forward as widely as you would like.
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Governor Inslee has a 2:30 press conference today, looks like he may address the statewide response to protestors and demonstrations. You can watch it here.

Mukiltean of the Day

The Mukiltean of June 4, 2020, is Kandace Barnes.

Kandace is the director of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce and is working hard to connect with our businesses, help share information and support our business community. I am proud to partner with her in this effort (stay tuned for Mukilteo Open for Business launch!), and am so glad that she is supporting our City.

Order takeout or shop online at a local business today in her honor!

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

Today, We Are In Phase 1

A suggestion came in to keep you updated, which seems like a good idea! Today we are in Phase 1. The County's application went in late on Monday to go to Phase 2, with additional information requested and now submitted. The application is reviewed by the State as a whole picture (FYI, in case you see specifics metrics out there that it seems like Snohomish County is not meeting- it's the whole picture that is assessed). I think we'll hear this week from the State about that tomorrow and might be open next week.

(The state website) shows the guidance for businesses, and the graphic below links to the full Safe Start report

New State Data Dashboard

Governor Jay Inslee and the state’s Joint Information Center have launched an updated version of the state’s COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard. The updated dashboard provides researchers and the public a better ability to see what’s happening at the regional and county level when it comes to COVID-19 activity, testing, and healthcare system readiness.

Staying Safe While Protesting

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has published a new blog post describing racism as a public health threat. DOH advises that addressing racism is critical to protecting public health and the well-being of our communities.
Even outdoors, gathering in a large group to peacefully protest can increase your risk of catching COVID-19. The level of risk depends on how close you are to others, how long you stay in close contact, and how many people are gathered. If you are going to attend a protest with a large number of people, you cannot remove all risk.
If you decide to take that risk, please protect yourself and others as much as you can:
 Wear a cloth face covering.
 Try to stay six feet away from other people as much as possible.
 Stay home if you are even a little bit sick.
 Take hand sanitizer with you and use it frequently. Don’t pass up an opportunity to wash your hands with soap and water.
 Cover your coughs and sneezes.
 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

Co-Pays Waived for Testing

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended his emergency order to Washington state health insurers for an additional 30 days, requiring them to waive copays and deductibles for any consumer requiring testing for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Insurers also must continue:
 Allowing a one-time early refill for prescription drugs.
Suspending any prior authorization requirement for treatment or testing of COVID-19.
 In addition, if an insurer does not have enough medical providers in its network to provide testing or treatment for COVID-19, it must allow enrollees to be treated by another provider within a reasonable distance at no additional cost.
The extension is effective immediately and applies to all state-regulated health insurance plans and short-term limited duration medical plans until July 3, 2020.

Small Business Resources

New, universal workplace safety requirements have been instituted under the Safe Start plan as a broad defense against the spread of COVID-19 at Washington workplaces.
The requirements encompass facial coverings, personal protective equipment, physical distancing, hand sanitation, surface sanitation, employee education, development of policy for ill employees, and compliance with emergency workplace guidance issued by the State of Washington.
See the full Safe Start plan for more information.

COVID-19 Business Checklist by Challenge Seattle
Challenge Seattle’s COVID-19 Business Checklist offers a library of ideas and precautionary measures that businesses can deploy to resume activity and protect workers and customers.

Everett Getting to Safe Toolkit for businesses can be found here.

Washington-Made PPE Marketplace by the Association of Washington Business
AWB’s “PPE Connect” marketplace connects Washington employers with Washington manufacturers of protective equipment. Keep your workers safe and support Washington businesses by requesting PPE through AWB’s marketplace. AWB has also published a Safe Work Plan template that may be a helpful starting point for your own internal communications.

COVID-19 Webinar Recordings by the Association of Washington Business
On the May 29 webinar, ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine briefed the audience on recovery of fraudulent unemployment benefits and Office of the Governor External Relations Director Nick Streuli presented on Safe Start progress. A panel of experts from state agencies responded live to audience questions.

“The Impact: Road to Recovery” series by TVW
The latest episode featured Nick Streuli, External Relations Director for the Office of the Governor. Mr. Streuli discussed the process for writing sector safety guidance, and progress of the Safe Start reopening plan.

Ferry Service

Normally, Washington State Ferries would be moving into their summer scheduled. Instead, they have implemented a COVID Response Plan guiding the service they can provide. Changes to service will depend on four metrics:
o Ridership levels – Currently still below 60% system-wide over this time last year
o Crew availability – Currently 150+ high-risk crewmembers out – over 65, underlying health conditions, childcare issues.
o Vessel availability – The maintenance shutdown, combined with inspection capacity has led to a lack of boats available for immediate service. This was in part due to the closure of the Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility and work at commercial shipyards. Eagle Harbor is open again, along with new strict physical distancing and health monitoring requirements.
o Budget – WSDOT is losing millions in revenue – gas tax, tolling, WSF farebox recovery, and rental car fees, resulting in a hiring freeze, no out-of-state travel, and no new contracts. Therefore, all service decisions will be viewed through a budget lens.

As things move forward, they will maintain their current schedule, and add service as the four metrics allow. So-- they cannot increase service based on ridership alone, and there may be waits for vehicle passengers.

The COVID Response Plan goes into greater detail, but as a highlight for Mukilteo:

The first change would be to bring back the last evening roundtrip sailing, which is canceled right now.
Then, when there is sufficient ridership demand, crew availability, vessel availability, and funding – all which will be influenced by the governor’s re-opening plan, they would increase service on the number two vessel by one roundtrip on Thursday evenings, three additional roundtrips on Fridays, one additional round-trip on Saturday, and two additional roundtrips on Sunday.

Post June-20 reservations will be available by the end of next week.

State Guidance

All reopening guidelines can be found here.

The CDC also has a lot of guidance, with the newest covering schools and daycamps.

Fun Diversions and Inspiration

Everything new coming to Netflix, starting tonight!

Adorable cat seeks comfort from his owner at the vet! Quick video link to warm your heart.

A couple nationally-known black-owned restaurants to try:
Ezell's Chicken
Island Soul

City Information

Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park reopened on May 5. 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.

For more information on city facilities, see this link.

Case Count

Current case count is 66 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo (1 new case), with no deaths amongst those cases, and 60 individuals who are recovered (no new recovered individuals).

County case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm.

General Resource Links

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.

 
   
 
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