Coronavirus updates: Relief concert features Seattle stars; workers get federal grants
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Wednesday, May 27.
Updated at 1:55 p.m.
The next round of CARES Act funding is on its way to aid Pierce County residents in recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 virus.
The largest share of the funding, $2.2 million, will go toward a new foreclosure prevention program designed to help homeowners who have lost income due to COVID-19. Pierce County’s foreclosure prevention program will provide foreclosure avoidance counseling and up to three months of mortgage assistance, with a maximum of $5,000 per household.
This week’s funding also supports Pierce County farmers by providing new markets for their goods and ensuring agriculture can continue to operate safely. Under this program, fresh produce grown in Pierce County will be distributed weekly to low-income residents through mobile markets.
To support our seniors and families, Pierce County is also providing additional resources to local food banks and senior centers.
The full list of newly funded programs is available below:
Economic Stabilization and Recovery Programs
▪ Agriculture-Specific Personal Protective Equipment: $250,000
▪ Tacoma Farmers’ Markets Mobile Market Project: $220,000
▪ Establish Online Sales for Small Agricultural Businesses: $30,000
Community Response and Resilience
▪ Foreclosure Prevention – Counseling and Mortgage Assistance: $2,200,000
▪ Senior Center Support: $660,000
▪ Emergency Food Network – Additional Funding: $500,000
More details on the programs can be found here.
3 more counties approved for Phase 2
Updated at 12 p.m.
Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved on Wednesday variance applications for Kittitas, Thurston, and Walla Walla counties to move into Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.
Kittitas County was previously on pause due to an outbreak investigation. Over the past three weeks, the Kittitas County Public Health Department demonstrated their ability to quickly and thoughtfully respond to an outbreak in their community. The Washington State Department of Health continues to have confidence in their approach, and as a result, has approved their variance application to move to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.
A total of 24 counties have now been approved to move to Phase 2: Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Cowlitz, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Kittitas, Lewis, Lincoln, Mason, Pacific, Pend Orielle, San Juan, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, Thurston, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, and Whitman.
Clallam, Kitsap, and Klickitat counties are eligible to apply for a variance to move to Phase 2. The application from Clark County remains on pause due to an outbreak investigation.
Purple donating mattresses to homeless shelter
Updated at 12 p.m.
Purple is donating 200 of its newly developed mattresses — specifically manufactured in response to the global pandemic — to Union Gospel Mission as care facilities face the spread of COVID-19 and shortages in equipment nationwide.
The mattresses will be used to house and provide comfort for those in Seattle affected by homelessness, helping to ensure a safer community for all.
Union Gospel Mission goes where people live, listens to their stories and regularly connects with each person to provide emergency care and invite them into its recovery programs. The mattress donations will help to provide much-needed comfort and relief to those arguably hit hardest by the pandemic.
This donation is especially critical to help house the homeless population as community shelters have enhanced their safety procedures because of COVID-19, limiting the number of guests they can host at any given time.
In fewer than two weeks in April, coronavirus cases among people experiencing homelessness in King County increased from 27 to 112. With more than 11,000 people experiencing homelessness in King County just last year, Purple is lending a hand to bring the number of those infected down as much as possible.
The donation is in cooperation with Relief Bed International, a nonprofit organization that provides beds to disaster victims and homeless shelters around the world. Purple is also a member of the Brands x Better Coalition — a new movement in how brands can come together and provide aid. For full details on Purple’s relief efforts, visit Purple.com/give-comfort.
OL Reign hosting blood drive
Updated at 12 p.m.
The OL Reign has partnered with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive on Wednesday, May 26 from noon to 6 p.m. at Cheney Stadium. The blood drive is full.
Those entering the blood drive are required to take their temperature and wear a face covering or mask, in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention public guidance.
With no known end date to the coronavirus fight, the Red Cross is encouraging healthy individuals to make appointments to donate blood to ensure blood remains readily available for patients who still rely on transfusions.
The blood collected will help those in need including trauma patients, children battling cancer, mothers experiencing childbirth complications, patients with sickle cell disease and others continues. Donated blood has a limited shelf life of 42 days for red cells, so the supply must constantly be replenished.
Community leaders launch All in WA
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Key nonprofits, community leaders, businesses and philanthropies across the state joined together to launch All In WA, a coordinated, statewide relief effort that will support workers and families who have been acutely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
At launch, the effort had raised $20 million toward a $65 million goal to be met in coming months. All In WA flags will be raised in six sites across the state at 11:30 am on Wednesday to show support.
“Washington state was at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our state will be at the forefront of a safe recovery,” Governor Inslee said. “
All In WA is helping to fill the gaps in funding across the state to provide relief to those who are suffering and to lay the groundwork to restart our economy in a safe, supported and sensible way. I’d like to thank Jeff Bezos for his pledge to match donations, and all the other generous donors and businesses who are making this possible.”
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will match individual donations under $1 million to All In WA causes, up to a total of $25 million. Of the initial $20 million in commitments, approximately $8 million are eligible for matching funds.
Launch commitments include contributions from the Ballmer Group, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Howard & Sheri Schultz, Perigee Fund, Nick & Leslie Hanauer and Jim and Jan Sinegal.
As different parts of the state are in different phases of reopening, one in five workers across the state have filed for unemployment and are at risk of housing or food insecurity due to a decrease in wages as a result of COVID-19. All In WA will help address the needs of a range of causes and communities including those facing food shortages, health disparities, those in need of housing assistance, small businesses, families and children, and essential workers.
Donations can be made to the All In WA Fund, an aggregate fund that will address funding gaps across the state, or directly to Community funds and Cause-specific funds across Washington, including those in need of housing assistance, small businesses, families and children, essential workers and more.
Funds donated to the All In WA Fund will be distributed in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations across the state. A Fund Advisory Group has been established to oversee the grantmaking from the All In WA Fund.
To promote this effort and help raise funds, there will be a virtual benefit concert on June 10, All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief by Presenting Sponsor Amazon, who will donate more than $10 million in cash and in-kind benefits, and Community Leadership Sponsor Microsoft, who will donate $2.5 million in cash directly to the relief funds.
The All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief will stream on June 10, 2020 beginning at 7:00 p.m. local time on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel (www.twitch.tv/amazonmusic) and through www.AllInWA.org and air statewide on KING 5 (NBC, Seattle), KONG (Independent, Seattle) KREM (CBS, Spokane), KSKN (CW, Spokane), KVEW/KAPP, and KGW Portland Subchannel 8.2 (Justice Network). Immediately following the live stream, a recording of the concert will be available on Prime Video. KEXP will be a radio media sponsor.
The virtual benefit concert will include Pearl Jam, Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, Russell Wilson, The Black Tones, Dave Matthews, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Pete Carroll, Mary Lambert, Joel McHale, Ben Gibbard and Allen Stone.
The full lineup will be announced at a later date. All donations will go directly to those in need. The virtual concert will be produced by Anonymous Content and Done and Dusted.
To contribute to the All In WA Fund or directly to Cause and Community funds, visit www.allinWA.org.
U.S. Department of Labor awards nearly $24 Million in Dislocated Worker Grants
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of four Dislocated Worker Grants totaling $23,823,000 to help address the workforce-related impacts of the public health emergency related to the coronavirus.
These awards are funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which provided $345 million for DWGs to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. This latest award follows four previous waves of funding, bringing the total amount awarded to states and territories to $222,044,958.
Four states will receive award funding in this wave. They are Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maine and Washington.
“These grants will be very helpful in mitigating the effects of the coronavirus on state workforces and ensuring they have the right resources to assist those affected by this pandemic,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training John Pallasch. “We continue to encourage states to leverage these funds to assist in contact tracing and other re-opening activities.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the coronavirus a nationwide public health emergency on January 31, 2020. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also issued coronavirus emergency declarations for states, outlying areas, and Indian tribal governments on March 13, 2020. These federal declarations enable the Secretary of Labor to award Disaster Recovery DWGs to help address the workforce-related impacts of this public health emergency.
Disaster Recovery DWGs may provide eligible participants disaster-relief employment to address coronavirus impacts within their communities, as well as employment and training activities. Employment Recovery DWGs provide reemployment services to eligible individuals affected by mass layoffs, such as those resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 transmission increasing in eastern Washington, decreasing in western Washington
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
The latest statewide modeling report shows COVID-19 transmission trending downwards in western Washington and upwards in eastern Washington. The report estimates differences between counties by combining modeling estimates of how the disease is spreading with data on reported cases.
The report estimates the effective reproductive number – the measure of how many new infections a single COVID-19 case will produce – for different parts of the state. A reproductive number below one means the number of new cases are declining.
The report is based on data from May 3-12. Findings are specific to that time period and include:
▪ The reproductive number varied in different parts of the state. The report estimates the average reproductive number was below one in western Washington and above one in eastern Washington.
▪ Excluding Yakima County, the estimated reproductive number for eastern Washington was fractionally above one.
▪ The majority of cases were reported in King and Yakima counties.
▪ New case counts were trending downwards in King County and were steadily increasing in Yakima County.
▪ Yakima, Douglas, and Chelan counties had the highest number of cases relative to their population.
County rates will have changed in the most recent data, including data under review for county variance applications.
The geographical differences seen in the report likely have multiple causes, including differences in testing. It’s also likely there are differences in infection rates due to behavioral and socioeconomic factors that affect COVID-19 exposure risk.
“As we continue to see differences from county to county, our efforts to support different regional needs for reopening become increasingly critical—and so does our request that people avoid traveling outside county lines to areas with fewer cases,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “I’m asking everyone to continue their hard work to protect others in our community and our state by following public health guidance.”
The Department of Health (DOH) worked with Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) and the Microsoft AI for Health program to develop the report, which updates previous statewide modeling reports with more recent data.
Strike team deployed to Yakima Valley for infection control support
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health and the Yakima Health District have been partnering for the last two weeks with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve infection control practices across the region in the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
On May 11, DOH deployed a team of ten infection specialists (eight DOH staff and two CDC staff) to support the Yakima Health District’s response to COVID-19 on many fronts. The county has multiple outbreaks at long term care facilities, including nursing homes and adult family homes.
The healthcare associated infections team was deployed to arrange testing, cohort patients and provide guidance to these facilities. Upon arrival, Dr. Scott Lindquist, the team lead, requested an infection preventionist from CDC to support the nearly 30 adult family homes in the county to make sure they were following guidance and had adequate supplies of PPE and access to testing.
Dr. Lindquist also requested one CDC epidemiologist to set up a data dashboard for the county, which should be finalized next week.
“Our priority, our focus, is to make sure we are able to prevent the spread of infection in places where people are in close quarters,” said Dr. Lindquist. “We realized that there was a need for additional support to do that successfully, which is why we requested extra support from the CDC.”
In addition to the outbreaks in congregate care settings, the team assessed outbreaks at a meat-packing plant, a fruit-packing plant and a jail. They offered infection control guidance for these facilities and visited seasonal farm worker housing and packing plants to provide masks and ensure testing plans were in place.
The team is currently working with multiple state agencies to put together a comprehensive guidance document for farm workers. The team also met with both hospital systems to see where they could offer support.
Inslee issues updated guidance for outdoor recreation in Phases 1 and 2
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued guidance further clarifying outdoor recreation requirements in Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Through the Washington “Safe Start” plan, more businesses and activities will re-open in phases, with adequate safety and health standards in place. Each phase will be at least three weeks.
Additionally, counties with less than 10 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents over a 14-day span can apply for a variance to move to Phase 2 of “Safe Start” before other parts of the state. County variance applications will be approved or denied by the secretary of the Department of Health. Twenty-one counties have received the variance.
Requirements for outdoor recreation can be found here.
Dozen inmates positive for coronavirus at prison in Connell
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
A dozen inmates and four employees have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in the eastern Washington town of Connell.
In response, the Department of Corrections is shutting down the food factory at Coyote Ridge, where inmates produce meals for the entire prison system and dozens of external customers.
The Spokesman-Review reports Wednesday that all the prison’s inmates will be quarantined in their units for 10 days. All classes and other programming will be suspended.
The Department of Corrections said employees at Coyote Ridge are conducting contact tracing to identify those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
Agency spokesman Jeremy Barclay said the food factory at Coyote Ridge was expected to remain closed only during the 10-day quarantine. He said the agency keeps extra food in store for such disruptions.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 8:52 AM.
