Tag Archive for: COVID-19

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COVID-19: Inslee Issues Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities, Fitness Businesses

This week, Gov. Inslee and state health officials announced updated COVID-19 guidance for long-term care facilities and fitness businesses.

Beginning Aug. 12, long-term care facilities will be able to resume in-person visits, with restrictions. The state has established a phased approach with criteria for long-term care facilities to safely allow visitors, provide trips for residents outside the facility and group activities, among other things.

  • Facilities in Phase 1:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and limited to two visitors per resident per visit. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 2:
    • Indoor visits are limited to compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations include end-of-life circumstances and for psycho-social needs. Any such visit must follow strict safety protocol.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed. These visits must include masking, social distancing, and appropriate hygiene.
    • Facilities may invite “window visits” at their discretion with safety protocol in place.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
    • A designated “essential support person” may visit a resident once per day if the resident is unable to participate in outdoor visits and if remote visitation technology is unavailable.
  • Facilities in Phase 3:
    • Indoor visits are generally permitted, with limitations. Facilities will establish protocol for visitor hours, visitor limits, and safety precautions. Preference should be given to outdoor visits.
    • Outdoor visits are allowed and are subject to facility safety protocol.
    • Remote visitation must be facilitated in all Phases.
  • Facilities in Phase 4:
    • Regular visitation resumes.

Fitness Guidelines

Fitness guidelines were also updated this week, allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes

Changes in August 3 update:

  • Removing the restriction on independent fitness training by allowing fitness and sports training other than group fitness classes.
  • Increasing the distancing requirement while exercising indoors from six feet to 300 square feet per person, except while practicing certain team sports. For large facilities, occupancy is limited to 25 percent of the facility’s occupancy limit, as determined by the fire code. Occupancy and distancing requirements should be determined and posted for every room in the facility.
  • Requiring all patrons to wear face coverings when inside indoor fitness facilities, except while engaged in strenuous exercise. Patrons who remove their cloth facial coverings to exercise must wear them at all other times, including immediately before and immediately after exercise.
  • Clarifying the use of indoor team sports facilities for practice and limited competition with no spectators.
  • Harmonizing Phase 2 and 3 guidance to allow some limited indoor fitness and training activities in all areas of the state.
  • Clarifying that outdoors locations for fitness training and team sports are preferred to indoors locations and should be utilized to the greatest extent possible. Outdoor temporary structures may be used. Outdoor temporary structures should have no more than two walls to provide appropriate ventilation.
Inslee
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Clark County COVID-19 Update

Clark County Public Health issued a new update today:

Another 13 people have tested positive for COVID-19. However, during routine quality control checks of our data, we removed 12 cases from our total due to duplications and cases being transferred to other counties (the county of residence).

With those changes, the total number of Clark County residents who have tested positive to date is 1992.

Another Clark County resident has died – a man in his 80s with undetermined underlying conditions. To date, 41 Clark County residents have died.

Currently, 13 COVID-19 patients and four persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

COVID-19
Long-Term Care Facilities Visitation.
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Inslee Issues Proclamation on Contact Tracing; Latest Clark County Data

Olympia, WA — Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation Thursday related to the state’s contact tracing efforts and personal information protection. 

Proclamation 20-64 exempts personally identifiable information collected by COVID-19 case investigators from public disclosure. The proclamation does not provide additional exemptions for employees or volunteers who are conducting the contact tracing work, as the Public Records Act already exempts many types of personal information relating to public employees and volunteers.     

“The success of the response to the COVID-19 epidemic depends in part on the free flow of information and individuals’ willingness to share information and cooperate with public health authorities,” Inslee said. “Ensuring the protection of a person’s personally identifiable information may determine whether that person will fully cooperate with COVID-19 case investigators and contact tracers.”

“While we believe that COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing information, and the personally identifiable information that is gathered as a part of that work, is already exempt under the Public Records Act, we need certainty because ensuring the protection of a person’s personally identifiable information is critical to our COVID-19 efforts,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

The proclamation will expire on August 29.

Art
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Latest Clark County COVID-19 Update

According to Clark County Public Health, another 22 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and one person has died – a woman in her 70s with no underlying health conditions.

To date, 1,778 Clark County residents have tested positive and 40 people have died.

Currently, 20 COVID-19 patients and 10 persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.

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COVID-19 Effect: Annual Washougal Art Festival Goes Virtual This Summer

Washougal WA — Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance will host an online art festival as an alternative to its annual August event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic public gathering restrictions. 

“We are very excited that our virtual 2020 Washougal Art Festival will last not just one day, but the entire month of August,” said WACA president, Kelli Rule.  “Our website will be the hub, and from there people will be able to access the festival through our Facebook and Instagram pages.”

The goal of WACA’s art festivals is to create exposure and drive sales for local and regional artists. According to Rule, artists have pushed themselves to create exclusive videos, new and refreshed websites and more to help promote their art in a new way online.  “We hope our community will support these local artisans, hard hit by the cancellation of so many opportunities to sell their art,” Rule said.  “We’ll do our best through social media to give the artists the attention they deserve.  When you purchase original artwork, you are not only buying that object, but you’re investing in that person.”

The event will highlight the work of 25 artists, each selected to participate by a jury of art professionals. 2020 festival artists are Linda Andrews-Riggs, water color; Eric Berlin, porcelain jewelry; Shirley Bishop, fused glass; Jean Blatner, watercolor acrylic; India de Landa, plexiglass acrylic jewelry; Chrissie Forbes, found art & oils, Katy Fenley, silver jewelry; Kyla Rae Friedrichsmeyer, watercolor & ink; Anni Furniss, mixed media; John Furniss, woodworking; Suzanne Grover, pen & colored pencil; Charlene Hale, fused glass; Kellie Kuter, mixed media; Brenda Lindstrom, oil; Beck Lipp, woodworking; Toni McCarthy, jewelry; Diane Moeglein, fused glass; Liz Pike, oil on canvas; Spike Palmer, oil painting; Karen Reule, silver jewelry; Gary Suda & Pamela Hancock, ceramics; Tamra Sheline, watercolor on yupo; Hiroko Stumpf, watercolor & acrylic; Cyndee Starr, mixed media; Barbara Wright, water color, ink, pencil; Jeff Wirth, photography; and Tom West, acrylic, stationery.

Art
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Each year a local artist is selected to create an image for the event poster that reflects Washougal in some way. This year’s poster art of a deer among tall grass was drawn by Washougal artist, Suzanne Grover, a founding member of WACA, whose work will be a part of the virtual festival. Her beautiful spring meadow scene was created from the photography of John Rakestraw.  Signed posters are available for a $20 donation.  There is a limited number of signed posters from previous festivals available as well, which can be purchased directly from WACA by emailing [email protected].

“This year has been hard for artists who have seen so many fairs, festivals and events cancelled,” Rule explained.  “Artists have not been able to meet potential customers face-to-face and we know it is hard for them to make connections.   We hope this virtual event will help in some small way.”

Join the festival at the WACA website http://washougalarts.org/ or  https://www.facebook.com/WashougalArts/, https://www.instagram.com/washougal_arts/.

Art Festival
Washougal Art Festival
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Inslee Issues Series of Rollback Orders on Several Businesses Statewide

OLYMPIA — Governor Jay Inslee announced Thursday a series of rollbacks and restrictions on bars, restaurants, fitness centers, weddings and funerals as new confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise statewide.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the changes:

Weddings and funerals — Effective Aug. 6

  • Receptions are prohibited (ceremonies permitted)
  • Occupancy is limited to 20 percent capacity or 30 people, whichever is less. People must be able to maintain physical distance of six feet.

Restaurants and bars — Effective July 30

  • Alcohol sales must end at 10 pm
  • Table size reduced to five people and total occupancy to 50 percent capacity in phase 3
  • Game areas must close
  • Bars will close indoor service
  • Limiting indoor dining at restaurants to members of the same household. People meeting from different households can still dine outdoors.
  • No indoor service at any bar, brewery, tavern, winery or distillery, regardless of whether food is being served.
  • For counties in the third phase of the four-part plan, restaurant table sizes must be reduced to five people, and indoor occupancy to 50 percent.
  • Restaurants must also close down game areas, such as for video games, pool tables and darts, until their county has reached the fourth phase.

Gyms and fitness centers — Effective July 30

  • Phase 2: Indoor fitness services limited to 5 people (not including trainers and staff)
  • Phase 3: Total occupancy limited to 25 percent capacity

“We do not take these steps lightly,” Inslee said. “We know every prohibition is a challenge for individuals and business owners. But we know that if we fail to act, we will expose thousands of people.”

Inslee
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Secretary of Health John Weisman also announced today new guidance on face mask requirements.

His new order mandates that face coverings are worn in all indoor common areas, not just public spaces. His new mandate includes elevators, hallways, apartment buildings, college dormitories, hotels, motels, universities, assisted-living facilities and adult family homes.

The new mask mandate goes into effect Saturday.

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Washington State Emergency Operations Releases Latest COVID-19 Report

Olympia, WA — The Washington State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) continues its response to the global outbreak of COVID-19, and provides regular reports. Fully activated on January 22, 2020, the SEOC has been coordinating the acquisition and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE), the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), intelligence and advanced planning, and logistical support to stakeholders throughout the state.

This latest situation report includes SEOC and state agency activities related to the continued incident response and the Governor’s Safe Start reopening plan.

A highlight from the current report is that “Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced that he is returning all COVID-19 Safe Start applications from counties whose applications were put on pause or pending review before Governor Jay Inslee implemented a statewide pause on reopening plans. By the time these applications are eligible for review, at least four weeks will have passed. Much has changed during this time period and information in the applications will be outdated. The following county applications have been returned: Clark, Cowlitz, Jefferson, Kitsap, Klickitat, San Juan and Walla Walla.”

Statewide Risks

  • Multiple agencies are concerned about general misinformation regarding the positive impacts of mask wearing, and misinformation about negative health effects of mask wearing and how that could be exacerbated further with the scientific debate on infectious transmission of COVID-19.
  • The mental and emotional health and wellbeing of healthcare workers and first responders may become a factor in healthcare readiness and capacity as well as overall response operations.
  • There is a lack of exhaustive evidence around schools and pandemic spread, but there is a body of research that suggests the closure of schools (in 1918 and 2009) does result in a trough in the wave, signifying schools do play a role in transmission. Potential increased risk for housing and food crisis as early as Fall 2020.
  • A possible seasonal influenza epidemic in the fall will lead to additional challenges including disruption of the health and social care systems and a large resurgence of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Covid-like Illness (CLI) with local or regional epidemics. A generalized increase in respiratory infections over the winter could also rapidly overwhelm test and trace capacity.
  • Following the suspension of routine clinical care and general fear from the public around healthcare systems during the pandemic, there will likely be an increase in the number of poorly-managed chronic conditions or undiagnosed diseases combined with a surge in post-COVID-19 morbidity resulting in overall and long term health consequences.
COVID-19
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Statewide COVID-19 Hospitalizations

  • Currently Hospitalized: 354
  • Currently Ventilated: 42

Statewide there are 4,907 beds available, and 341 ICU beds available.

COVID-19 Case Spikes Statewide (by County*) July 13-19

  • Benton: 450
  • Chelan: 141
  • Clark: 114
  • Cowlitz: 58
  • Douglas: 94
  • Franklin: 278
  • Grant: 106
  • King: 1,014
  • Kitsap: 84
  • Kittitas: 92
  • Okanogan: 151
  • Pierce: 496
  • Snohomish: 306
  • Spokane: 529
  • Yakima: 783

*This isn’t all counties, but those that had major spikes. The total of new cases statewide during period was 5,203.

Cumulative Data

  • Deaths: 1,447
  • Tested: 809,339
  • Positive Tests: 46,946

Statewide Unemployment

Since the week ending in March 7, 2020 when COVID-19 job losses began:

  • A total of 2,283,609 initial claims have been filed during the pandemic.
  • A total of 1,261,075 distinct individuals have filed for unemployment benefits.
  • ESD has paid out over $7.6 billion in benefits.
  • 920,153 individuals who have filed an initial claim have been paid.
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Grains of Wrath Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19; Abruptly Closes

Camas, WA — Upon learning a Grains of Wrath (GOW) employee tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday afternoon, the downtown Camas brewing company immediately closed its doors.

“We take these matters seriously, and we acted immediately,” said Brendan Greenen, GOW partner and General Manager. “The safety of our staff and customers comes first.”

A mobile COVID-19 testing unit is coming to GOW in the next day or so, and the results will me made known 15 minutes after each test is completed.

Greenan said they will quarantine any employee who tests positive, do a very deep professional cleaning early in the week, and then announce a re-opening date.

“I was eating lunch, and they very professionally let us know they were closing because an employee tested positive for COVID,” said Lisa Le, a local real estate agent. “They covered our lunch, I finished my beer and they closed.”

GOW
www.annrivers.com

GOW issued this statement:

To our GoW friends and family,

“Just moments ago we were notified one of our employees tested positive for COVID-19 and is now on their way to self-quarantine.

“We do not know how or when this person contracted the virus. That being said, we are not taking any chances. GoW will be closing until every employee undergoes testing. We will be organizing and covering all expenses. Additionally, our entire facility will be receiving a deep clean by hired professionals.

“The safety of our staff, families, and guests is our top priority. As we know more, we will keep you updated via social media and our website. In the meantime, please support all your local bottle shops, taprooms, and restaurants.”

Stay safe and healthy,
Grains of Wrath Brewing

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ERC Report: Retail Trade Helps Lead Washington’s Economic Recovery

This past month, Washington state revenue collections came in $260 million higher than the June forecast, according to a Economic and Revenue Forecast Council report.  The higher collections are not due to deferred payments being paid back (as those came in on target), but show greater economic activity, primarily in retail trade.  

A key part of the economic report says:

Non-retail trade payments were down about 20%, similar to the forecasted decline in total collections for the period. During May, a majority of counties reached Phase 2 of the state’s pandemic reopening plan, which allowed non-essential retail establishments to open on a limited basis. In June, most of the remaining counties reached Phase 2 and several reached Phase 3, so next month’s retail trade activity could also be higher than forecasted. It remains to be seen, however, if the higher activity is sustainable or if it represents a one-time response to several months of pent-up demand.   

  • U.S. employment increased by 4.8 million jobs in June; the unemployment rate declined to 11.1%.
  • Light vehicle sales improved for a second straight month but remain 24.1% below June 2019 levels.
  • Housing units authorized by building permits and housing starts both increased in May but were below May 2019 levels.
  • Washington employment continued to recover in June following the historic decline in April.
  • Washington manufacturing activity improved in June for the first time since February.
  • Major General Fund-State (GF-S) revenue collections for the June 11 – July 10, 2020 collection period came in $260.7 million (14.8%) higher than the June forecast.
  • Revenue Act tax collections were $247.0 million (19.7%) higher than forecasted and other tracked revenue came in $13.6 million (2.7%) higher than forecasted.
  • Most of this month’s surplus was from higher-than-expected taxable economic activity in retail trade, the result of the allowed May opening of non-essential retail establishments in a majority of counties. While increased June openings may bring another month of stronger-than-expected activity, it remains to be seen if the activity is sustainable or merely a temporary release of pent-up demand.

“I see people in our district working hard everyday to bring their businesses back to pre-COVID-19 levels, and this report shows the results of so many efforts,” said Senator Ann Rivers, 18th Legislative District. “I support them, and we need to keep a balance in our state as we continue to recover from the effects of this pandemic.”

Employment Outlook

The council has just one month of new Washington employment data since the June forecast was released. The report says employment continued to recover in June following the historic decline in April. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose 86,500 (seasonally adjusted) in June, which was 34,600 more than expected in the June forecast. Private services-providing sectors added 74,600 jobs in June. Construction employment increased by 10,100 jobs and manufacturing added 1,700 jobs despite the loss of 3,000 aerospace jobs. Government payrolls were unchanged in June. Washington’s unemployment rate declined to 9.8% in June from 15.1% in May and 16.3% in April. The April rate was an all-time high in the series that dates back to 1976.

Tax Payments

The report also says total tax payments as of July 2 from electronic filers who also filed returns for May activity in the June 11 – July 10, 2019 period were down 9.0% year over year (payments are mainly Revenue Act taxes but include some non-Revenue Act taxes as well). Last month payments were down 14.4% year over year. Some details of the payments:

  • Total payments in the retail trade sector increased 6.3% year over year. Last month, payments were down 7.1% year over year.
  • Payments from the motor vehicles and parts sector were down 4.1% year over year. Last month, payments in the sector dropped 54.3% year over year.
  • Retail trade sectors showing strong year-over- year growth were miscellaneous retailers (+77.8%), electronics and appliances (+32.2%), nonstore retailers (+28.9%) and building materials and garden supplies (+12.4%).
Economic
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Inslee Adjusts Rules for Social Gatherings; Threatens New ‘Stay Home’ Order

Governor Jay Inslee announced at Thursday’s press conference he is restricting gatherings in Phase 3 from 50 to 10 people to help curb the spread of the coronavirus and said multiple times that another stay-home order is possible. 

Counties in modified Phase 1 or Phase 2 of the state’s Safe Start plan may continue to have social gatherings with five people or less. However, counties in Phase 3 can now only have social gatherings with 10 people or less. Previously, counties in Phase 3 could have gatherings up to 50 people. 

The governor said the changes are in direct response to the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across Washington. As of today, the seven-day rolling average is 629 cases per day and the state is averaging 115 cases per 100,000 people.

“We have a problem that can be addressed by individual action, and too many aren’t exercising the caution necessary,” said Inslee. “The disease is spreading at social gatherings that are happening sporadically across the state, and we don’t want to look like Arizona or Texas. We cannot let our guard down even as we engage in more activities.” 

The state is also prohibiting all live indoor and outdoor entertainment to help curb the spread of COVID-19.  These new rules will go into effect Monday. The new rules, however, will not impact weddings, funerals and spiritual services.

Inslee said as citizens venture out and have small social gatherings, they need to wear face masks and continue to physical distance from each other. He also recommended having gatherings outdoors over indoor ones.  He also said multiple times he’s not ruling out another stay-at-home order if individuals don’t mask up and follow the mandates.

Washington continues to see a rise in coronavirus cases and it’s most commonly spread at social gatherings, according to Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

Inslee
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Wiesman said during the week of June 26-July 2, the state averaged 629 new COVID-19 cases every day. He said it’s the highest rate of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. 

There are currently 43,046 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Washington state, including 1,421 deaths.  A total of 733,886 people have been tested for the coronavirus and of those, 5.9 percent of the tests came back positive for COVID-19. 

“You can only be with five people outside your household,” Inslee said. “Doing things outside are safer than inside. Keep wearing masks. We’ve had a significant surge in COVID cases with young people and we are seeing an explosion of this virus during this pandemic.”

Answering a reporter’s question, Inslee said: “If trends continue we have to look at what is least essential to our economy. We could limit restaurants, bars, by we have to be confident our mask requirements will be enough to reduce this rate. At the moment, school opening is in great question. Something has to change dramatically so we don’t have to issue another stay-at-home order.”

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Inslee’s COVID-19 Update: All Statewide Re-openings On Pause Through July 28

OLYMPIA, WA — Governor Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that the current statewide pause on counties reopening will continue through July 28, possibly longer.

Today’s news comes as COVID-19 cases statewide continue to spike, and Inslee said that this time is a pivotal in determining what conditions will look like in September when students — at all levels — are expected to return to the classroom.

“We have to find somewhere to break that chain of looming disaster,” Inslee said.

Inslee also issued an advisory that Washingtonians shouldn’t be surprised if some pandemic restrictions are rolled back over the course of the pandemic. He said this may include things like indoor seating in businesses, but that will be determined in the upcoming days and weeks. New restrictions will also be determined by how many people wear face masks and practice physical distancing in public.

The governor also praised residents for adhering to the mandatory statewide order to wear face masks. He said today’s announcement is designed to keep the virus from spreading.

“We are not in as bad a state as others,” Inslee said, naming Arizona and Florida, that have been struggling in recent days to stop a massive virus case spike. “We can’t overstate how important this moment is in addressing the pandemic.”

The state’s mandatory face mask rule went into effect on June 26. Under the order, violators can be punished with misdemeanor criminal penalties and businesses are asked to refuse service to customers who are not in compliance with the order.

COVID-19
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Inslee said the face mask order is having a positive effect on fighting COVID-19.

“What we know is this effort is working,” Inslee said. “Washingtonians are masking up.”

Exemptions to the face mask order include:

  • People who can’t wear masks because of existing medical conditions.
  • Children 5 years old and younger.
  • People who are deaf or need to have their mouth uncovered in order to communicate.
  • When it is onerous to do so, including customers who are eating out at a restaurant.

“We have to look at where we’re going to be, not where we are,” the governor said.

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Clark County COVID-19 Update: 106 More Test Positive Over Weekend, 1 Death

Clark County Public Health issued the following update today:

“Since our last update on Friday morning, another 106 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and one person died – a man in his 60s with underlying health conditions. Over the weekend, we had an average of 35 new cases per day (Fri-Sun). To date, 1,272 Clark County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and 33 people have died. Currently, 26 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized and seven persons under investigation (PUIs) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.”

According to Clark County Public Health, if you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should call your health care provider right away and request to be tested.

Early testing is critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Clark County. Identifying cases early enables us to more quickly isolate those who are sick and quarantine their close contacts.

Most health clinics are offering COVID-19 testing now. People who are unable to access testing through their regular health care provider, those who do not have a health care provider or those who are uninsured can contact the following facilities to request testing:

  • Legacy GoHealth. Hazel Dell, 360.787.4151. Cascade Park, 360.787.4135.
  • Providence Walk-In Clinic, Battle Ground. 360.687.6650. •Rose Urgent Care and Family Practice, Vancouver. 360.952.4457. (drive up testing available)
  • Sea Mar Community Health Center, Battle Ground. Call 360.342.8060 to schedule an appointment. (drive up testing available). Testing hours: 8:30 am to noon Tuesdays, 1 to 4:30 pm Thursdays. •Sea Mar Community Health Center, East Vancouver. Call 360.726.6720 to schedule an appointment. (drive up testing available). Testing hours: 8:30 to 11:15 am Mondays, 1 to 4:15 pm Thursdays.
  • Sea Mar Community Health Center, Salmon Creek. Call 360.852.9070 to schedule an appointment. (drive up testing available). Testing hours: 1 to 5 pm Wednesdays, 9 am to noon Thursdays. •The Vancouver Clinic. Various locations. Call 360.882.2778 to schedule an appointment. (*These facilities are providing tests at no cost for those who are uninsured. Some may charge a fee for the office visit. Call the facility for more information.)
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