While we were all (rightly) focused on Geroge Floyd, police violence, and structural racism, something important quietly happened on the COVID front in Washington: we moved out of Phase 1, the shutdown. In our new reality some of the rules are the same, but many of them have changed. For the most part, the government seems ready to do its part; but the rest of us aren’t yet. It’s time to get our act together.
Continue readingCategory: public health
City partnering with UW for free COVID-19 drive-up testing
Late this afternoon, Mayor Jenny Durkan and UW President Ana Mari Cauce signed a partnership agreement to provide free COVID-19 testing at two drive-through locations in Seattle.
Continue readingGovernor lifts restrictions on Council deliberations
Last Friday, Governor Inslee extended and revised his emergency proclamation that suspended provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act, lifting the restrictions on the Council and other public agencies from taking certain actions.
Continue readingWhere do we go from here? New research and studies suggest next steps for fighting COVID-19
We’re no longer talking about whether to lock down to fight the COVID-19 outbreak; that ship has sailed. Now we’re discussing how long we need to sustain the lockdown, and when we might get to see our friends, co-workers and family again. Five newly-released research and study papers provide important insights into the answer.
Continue readingTwo off-the-beaten-path research papers on the coronavirus, with interesting results
There have been a flood of research papers released in the last few days related to coronavirus as the world’s researchers try to understand where this virus came from and what it does. Much of the work is either clinical to understand how to properly diagnose and treat patients, or epidemiological to understand (and hopefully control) how it spreads. But there are many other research teams exploring other aspects of the coronavirus; here are two such examples, with interesting results. One looks at whether there is reason to believe that at least some COVID patients lose their sense of smell; …
Continue readingThe latest research on coronavirus transmission in King County is a much-needed sign of hope
Earlier this week the Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) released a pair of research papers (here and here) looking at the transmission rate of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in King County. It provides hopeful news for the effectiveness of the social-distancing methods being used to try to slow the spread, and it also suggests some new ways to predict how we’re doing.
Continue readingGovernor rewrites Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act for duration of COVID emergency
Yesterday Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation that temporarily suspends several of the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act until April 23 — though practically speaking, until the end of the COVID-19 crisis. The changes are allowances for the fact that most government employees are telecommuting, and many legislative bodies (including the Seattle City Council) are holding their public meetings by conference call.
Continue readingNew coronavirus research sheds light on outcomes for patients, effectiveness of efforts to slow spread
Over the weekend, a research group led by a team at Imperial College in the UK published a paper looking at the effectiveness of various efforts taken by governments to stem the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. It has been credited with convincing UK and US government officials to get serious about moving quickly and decisively — but it also points to the rough road ahead of us.
Continue readingA trio of COVID-19 response announcements from the city (UPDATED 3/18)
Today the City of Seattle made three separate announcements of actions it is taking as part of its response to the COVID-19 outbreak. (UPDATE 3/18 — see below on encampment cleanups)
Continue readingNotes from today’s Council meeting
This week the City Council meeting switched from Skype to a good old-fashioned conference call, featuring automated announcements every time someone entered or dropped the call and plenty of background chatter as the Council members called in from home. And yet they still managed to get a few things done.
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