 | Here is your Mayor's update, some COVID-19 information, some other useful information! Please forward as widely as you would like.
I want to hear from you, contact me anytime. If you're reading this because it was forwarded to you, or you saw it on Facebook and would like to receive it yourself, email here to subscribe | The two-week case rate for the period ending Friday is the highest it has been since the first wave of COVID-19, back in March and April, 2020. The rate has increased from 70.6 per 100,000 population in last week’s update to 101.1 per 100,000 in today’s update.
The latest snapshot is up, as well, for October 4-10. | There are some key takeaways from new cases that health district staff are asking the community to help mitigate:
• Approximately 1 in 5 confirmed cases do not respond to Health District staff’s attempts to reach them. It is important to respond to those calls. Public health wants to ensure you are well and taking proper steps to protect yourself and your circles.
• A growing number of cases are refusing to provide the Health District with names of their close contacts or locations visited while potentially contagious, or employers are hesitating to provide information on their employees. Not only is this a failure to comply with WAC 246-101 and Governor Inslee’s Proclamation (20-25.6), but it severely hampers the Health District’s ability to do contract tracing efforts needed to stop the spread of disease.
• The majority of new cases are the result of too many people in close settings, especially without face coverings. Even in limited social gatherings, people should still wear masks when around people outside of their household. People can be contagious up to two days before they start to feel any symptoms.
“Rather than people worrying about another ‘stay home’ period, it would really be a better use of everyone’s energy and efforts if we limit our social gatherings now and mask up,” said Shawn Frederick, administrative officer for the Snohomish Health District. “If we practice good social distancing and use masks when around people outside of our household, we don’t need to worry about the what-if’s. We absolutely have the ability to control this now with our individual efforts." | The CDC recently shared some tips for the holidays: There are several factors that contribute to the risk of getting infected or infecting others with the virus that causes COVID-19 at a holiday celebration. In combination, these factors will create various amounts of risk, so it is important to consider them individually and together:
* Community levels of COVID-19 (if you're traveling, look into reports for the region you're visiting)
* The location of the gathering (outdoor or indoor with good ventilation)
* The duration of the gathering – shorter is better
* The number of people at the gathering – do more with less/fewer people
* The locations attendees are traveling from
* The behaviors of attendees prior to the gathering – be extra safe in the weeks prior to a gathering
* The behaviors of attendees during the gathering – wear masks, social distance, wash hands, and reconsider the holiday buffet- limit the number of people handling or serving food | The Snohomish Health District supports the Washington State Department of Health’s statement that voting is safe in Washington. Voting by mail doesn’t present a risk of spreading the virus as COVID mostly spreads through the air. It is safe to send in ballots by mail or a drop box.
For info on elections and voting in Snohomish County, visit the County Elections website. 'We may be in for a very dark time': Coronavirus transmission, cases increasing in King County- Seattle PI and, basically the same story from The Hill- Fauci warns of fall coronavirus dangers: 'We are entering into a risk period' ‘Concerning trend’ as Puget Sound counties see increasing COVID-19- Q13 Seattle researchers aim to stop the spread of COVID-19 infections in Alaskan fishing industry- Geekwire Seattle & King County Public Health has learned of more COVID-19 cases associated with the UW Greek system outbreak. They identified an additional 28 cases linked to the outbreak retrospectively, based on membership lists recently provided by the fraternity and sorority organizations. These cases do not represent a fresh increase in transmission. As of Oct. 15, this outbreak includes 274 positive cases, involving 16 fraternities and sororities. | Funding for non-health services linked to reduced infant mortality
Increasing government spending — even just a little — on non-health services like education, parks, and housing could help reduce infant mortality rates, according to new research. Though the numbers vary widely around the country, states and local governments spend about $9 per person on various services, per 2000-2016 data. And just small increases, like putting an extra $0.30 toward parks and recreation, for instance, was linked to a small decrease in the infant mortality rate. Infants born to mothers who were less than 20 years old benefited the most from such non-health investments. | The 2021 Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival Association is hosting a Zoom meeting on October 22 - to begin planning for the 2021 Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival. You can jin organizers at their upcoming meeting and learn about volunteer opportunities. The meeting is Thursday, October 22, at 6pm via Zoom. The next Lighthouse Festival will be held Sept. 10-12, 2021. Contact info@mukfest.com to get registered | Western Washington home bakers aim to end hunger, one loaf at a time: It all began when Katherine Kehrli, the associate dean of the Seattle Culinary Academy and founder of the Northwest BreadBakers, was forced by the pandemic to cancel events like visits to a grain farm and bread-making workshops, but still wanted her 481 members to do something together while quarantined.
“The silver lining of COVID is that some of us work from home and have this new space to explore our baking,” she said.
The "Community Loaves Honey Oat Pan Loaf" bread is made by volunteer bakers, who pay for the flour and other ingredients, bake it at home, then gather the loaves and donate them to Hopelink, a social-services nonprofit that includes a loaf in some of the 3,000 boxes of food it gives to needy families.
Kehrli now has more than 140 volunteer bakers, packers and drivers making the bread donations happen twice a month. Bakers pick up their supplies — flour, yeast — at one of 13 hubs that stretch from Mukilteo to Olympia. They return to the same spot with finished loaves every other Sunday, and then they’re transported to Kehrli’s house. (This last week, bakers made 330 loaves.)
In the 18 weeks since the program started, members have made and donated 3,229 loaves of bread — or, 6,411 lbs. of bread. | Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park reopened on May 5. Bathrooms are open only at Lighthouse Park 7am-7pm. Playgrounds are open, with warnings about cleaning schedules and advise to use at your own risk posted. Trails and sidewalks continue to be open for your physical activity! Please respect physical distance of six feet, and put your face covering on as you pass others. 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, whenever that might be. For more information on city facilities, see this link. | Current case count is 170 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo (16 new cases- that's a lot even for four days, since last Thursday's report), and 135 individuals who are recovered (9 new recoveries) County and city case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm. | | |
