Tag Archives: Novel Coronavirus

News

“We’ve Had Lots of Reports of People Not Wearing Face Masks”: On the Eve of King County’s Move Into Phase Two, Coronavirus Cases On the Rise

by Carolyn Bick

King County has moved into Phase Two of Washington State’s Safe Start reopening plan, even as the number of novel coronavirus cases have increased.

In a briefing on June 19, Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin of Public Health — Seattle & King County shared that the evening before the briefing, the office had learned that cases had increased 47 percent. He said the department learned of this after Duchin had approved the county’s application to move into Phase Two. 

Continue reading “We’ve Had Lots of Reports of People Not Wearing Face Masks”: On the Eve of King County’s Move Into Phase Two, Coronavirus Cases On the Rise →
News

Inslee Prepared to Move Counties Back to Earlier Safe Start Phases, Mandate Mask Use

by Carolyn Bick

Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee did not rule out moving counties back to earlier phases of the state’s Safe Start plan and the possibility of instituting a mask-wearing mandate, if novel coronavirus cases across the state continue to rise.

Continue reading Inslee Prepared to Move Counties Back to Earlier Safe Start Phases, Mandate Mask Use →
News

Seattle/King County COVID-19 Updates: Somali Health Board Hosts Eighth-Annual Health Fair With COVID Testing

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curated by Emerald Staff

Seattle/King County COVID-19 Updates *Through 8/14/20

The Emerald is pivoting rapidly to respond to the current needs of the community in COVID times. We now have several ways for you to get the latest Seattle and King County-area COVID-19 updates — including information about the status of Washington’s phased reopening plan, government guidelines and mandates, free and subsidized testing, mask-giveaway events, and more:

1. Check out our new “Announcements & Events” page.

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3. Sign up for our newsletter for a weekly digest of Emerald articles with highlights of important COVID-related happenings.

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5. Visit our home page daily to see all our latests posts on local happenings!

6. Check out our “Thriving in the Pandemic” South End resource guide.

**On our homepage, look for this email sign up to get posts delivered to your inbox in real time:

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News

“It’s Labyrinthine”: Workers Filing for Unemployment Benefits Face Dropped Calls, Confusing Online Systems, and Hours-Long Wait Times

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by Carolyn Bick

According to NaSushon Taylor’s unemployment claim, which as of mid-June was still listed as “[a]djudication in progress,” Washington State owes her more than $5,000 in unemployment.

She hasn’t seen a dime of that money.

For the first three months since she was furloughed from her dishwashing job at Cook Weaver in Capitol Hill nearly four months ago, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Taylor called Washington State’s Employment Security Department (ESD) every day to try to get the thousands of dollars in unemployment the state owes her.

Taylor has been fighting hard for it. When she was still calling ESD every day, it wasn’t unusual for her to call hundreds of times in one day. One day, she called ESD 541 times. Another, she called 511 times. Each time, ESD’s system disconnected her call.

Taylor isn’t alone. Robin, a registered nurse and tutor who preferred that the Emerald not print her last name or place of employment, was furloughed from one of her two part-time jobs at a local clinic in mid-March. She faced a different situation — ESD had told her that she owes the state $1,700 for allegedly inaccurately entering one of her employer’s names. But the end result was the same as Taylor’s: she dealt with endless holds and hundreds of dropped calls, while the bills continued to mount. And according to ESD, hangups, dropped calls, difficulties using the system, and general confusion aren’t an uncommon problem for the almost 1.17 million people who have filed for unemployment since March 7.

Continue reading “It’s Labyrinthine”: Workers Filing for Unemployment Benefits Face Dropped Calls, Confusing Online Systems, and Hours-Long Wait Times →
News

Seattle CPC, OPA, OIG Release Recommendation that SPD Cease Use of Tear Gas, Due to Novel Coronavirus Concerns

by Carolyn Bick

The Seattle Community Police Commission, Office of Police Accountability, and Office of Inspector General have released a joint recommendation that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) stop using tear gas, due to the extra dangers it poses in light of the current novel coronavirus pandemic.

Continue reading Seattle CPC, OPA, OIG Release Recommendation that SPD Cease Use of Tear Gas, Due to Novel Coronavirus Concerns →
News

City of Seattle and UW Medicine Partner to Launch Two Free Testing Sites

by Carolyn Bick

The City of Seattle and the UW Medicine have launched two free novel coronavirus testing sites in Seattle, one of which is located in South Seattle’s SODO area.

In a press conference with several health professionals and Seattle Fire Department (SFD) personnel, Mayor Jenny Durkan and UW President Ana Maria Cauce announced the launch of the North Seattle and South Seattle testing sites, which open Friday, June 5. The South Seattle site will be located at 3820 6th Ave. S. Both sites will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

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Voices

OPINION: As We Mourn the Loss of “Normal,” the Time has Come to Envision a Bold New Future for Our Schools

by Marcus Harden

(This article first appeared on Rise up For Students and has been reprinted with permission.) 

“As long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

—Thanos, Avengers Endgame

I hate social distancing. There, I said it.

I believe in the power of language — I rarely use the word hate — and I fully understand why social distancing is necessary. I honor and respect the sacrifices workers are making that allow me to sit on my Ikea couch and write a blog post about hating it and the privilege that comes along with it.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way … every day, my heart and spirit mourns the loss of not only what was, but like so many others around me, I grieve for the lost feeling of certainty of what will be.

Continue reading OPINION: As We Mourn the Loss of “Normal,” the Time has Come to Envision a Bold New Future for Our Schools →
News

Five Workers at Amazon Warehouse in Kent Likely Infected with Coronavirus

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Amazon’s culture of silencing workers has recently been making noise.

by Andrew Engelson and Ari Robin McKenna

At least five workers at an Amazon distribution warehouse known as BFI4 in Kent, Washington have likely been infected with the novel coronavirus, and warehouse employees live in fear of firings if they speak out, current and former employees told the Emerald in a series of interviews.

Continue reading Five Workers at Amazon Warehouse in Kent Likely Infected with Coronavirus →
News

Seattle/King County COVID-19 Updates: The Archives

curated by Emerald Staff

Welcome to “Seattle/King County COVID-19 Updates: The Archives”

For updates after 4/30/20 (i.e. current updates), click here. To go to our resource guide, click here. For the resource guide archives, click here.

4/30/20

Dunn Asks for Report on Effectiveness of King County COVID-19 Response

Metropolitan King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn on Wednesday introduced a motion asking that the University of Washington analyze the effectiveness of the COVID-19 response in King County. The report would look at how the actions of King County leaders and Public Health – Seattle & King County impacted the spread of the virus and compare health outcomes.

“The COVID-19 pandemic may well be the worst viral outbreak many of us will see in our lifetimes,” Dunn said. “Given that this is new territory for all of us, we must arm ourselves with data on what worked and what didn’t in case we are ever faced with another crisis-level outbreak.”

Dunn’s motion asks that the University of Washington conduct this study in conjunction with Public Health – Seattle & King County, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the Gates Foundation, and other organizations directly involved in the COVID-19 response in King County.

If approved, the analysis would be due by June 30, 2021. Dunn’s motion will be heard by the King County Council Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, May 19.

Continue reading Seattle/King County COVID-19 Updates: The Archives →
News

Washington State Gov. Jay inslee Extends Stay-Home Order

by Carolyn Bick

Washingtonians will remain under a stay-home order past the original stop date of May 4, Gov. Jay Inslee announced in a press conference on April 30.

Joined by Vice Admiral Dr. Raquel Bono, director of Washington state COVID-19 health care response, as well as state health officer Kathy Lofy, and the Washington State Emergency Operations Center deputy intelligence section chief Katherine Guest, Inslee said that the decision to keep Washingtonians under a stay-home order was not an easy one, but was necessary, based on current modeling data. The stay-home order is meant to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Continue reading Washington State Gov. Jay inslee Extends Stay-Home Order →