Vashon Emergency Operations Center COVID-19 Pandemic Situation Report

Here’s what you should know about Dec. 1 - Dec. 7.

December 10, 2020 1:30 am
There have been reports of some confusion about the cost at the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps COVID-19 testing site. There is no cost. The Emergency Operations Center put this digital “poster” out on Facebook and other places to make sure everyone understands that VashonBePrepared will pay the tab if your insurance doesn’t. For more information, go to Testing.VashonBePrepared.org. Call (844) 469-4554 to be screened and make the required appointment before going to the testing site (Courtesy Photo).
There have been reports of some confusion about the cost at the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps COVID-19 testing site. There is no cost. The Emergency Operations Center put this digital “poster” out on Facebook and other places to make sure everyone understands that VashonBePrepared will pay the tab if your insurance doesn’t. For more information, go to Testing.VashonBePrepared.org. Call (844) 469-4554 to be screened and make the required appointment before going to the testing site (Courtesy Photo).

THE VIRUS

The spike continues: The number of Vashon residents infected by COVID-19 has climbed again in the last week. In two weeks, the total case count mushroomed from 39 to 79 known cases since pandemic record-keeping began. The surge has taken hold very quickly. It took 36 weeks to get to 39 cases, and only two more weeks to double that number. (At press time, the website dashboard for Public Health — Seattle & King County shows 75 cases and had not yet picked up all the known cases that have come through the Vashon MRC testing site.)

What to expect next: “We are only at the beginning of our Thanksgiving spike on Vashon,” according to Dr. Jim Bristow, the lead for the Medical Reserve Corps testing site. “We know that many families and friends got together over the holiday break and many traveled to see relatives. The big jump in cases preceded the holiday, so we will not be surprised if we see a rising case count and positivity rate given the incubation period for the infection and the lag time for people to get tested.”

The positivity rate key indicator: The Vashon MRC conducted 130 tests Thanksgiving week, identifying 16 positive cases. There have been an additional 10 positive tests this week through Wednesday. That means Vashon’s positivity rate is now exceeding 10% — a dangerous level. The positivity rate is the percentage of those being tested who come back confirmed with COVID-19. Experts look at the positivity rate as a key metric to judge the level of disease in a community, with a higher rate indicating a higher level of disease. In early October, the Vashon positivity rate was only about 0.6%. In succeeding weeks, it climbed through 5.0%, and now over 10% for the last two weeks. It’s important to note that the positivity rate measures the rate of disease among those being tested, not the overall rate of disease in the general population. Also, the recent positivity rate figures are based only on the MRC test site, since public health agencies have frozen reporting of the total number of tests in order to keep from swamping the public health databases.

Families, friends, workplace: Most of the cases continue to come from family and friends gatherings. So far, the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps has not identified spread from household clusters or businesses to the general community. The reason: family clusters have quarantined after their likely exposure to COVID-19. They either quarantined following travel, or quarantined after a party or other type of gathering. That sacrifice has so far helped keep the island from becoming a major infection red zone.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENTS

Okay to keep your dental appointment: The Seattle-King County Dental Society is putting out the word that dental offices are still open and doing routine dental care. As Vashon dentist, Dr. Marc Langland, put it: “The media incorrectly interpreted the Governor’s recent proclamation. The proclamation does not limit dental care and did not roll back the Governor’s orders that re-opened dental offices earlier this year. If you boil it down, the Governor’s proclamation standardizes PPE and care decision requirements for dental offices throughout the state. Vashon dentists were already meeting and exceeding those standards. So, preventive dental care is still going strong and nobody should neglect any aspect of their health, including their teeth.”

Automatic exposure notification on your phone: The new WA Notify smartphone tool has been designed to automatically alert you if you’ve been near someone who tested positive for COVID-19. More than 1 million users enabled WA Notify within the first four days after its release. Some people have expressed concern about how it works and how it tries to protect privacy. The Governor’s office has released a short video that explains the nuts and bolts, and you can view the short video online at tinyurl.com/WAnotify. In addition, getting the WA Notify tool set up on your phone works differently, depending on whether you have an Apple or Android phone. Directions for both situations are available online at tinyurl.com/WAnotifyinstall.

Shorter quarantine guidelines: Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Public Health – Seattle & King County have adopted the CDC’s new quarantine guidelines. Washington State Department of Health still recommends a quarantine period of 14 days. However, there are circumstances that allow for a shortened quarantine. These include:

  • If a person who is in quarantine has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 10.
  • If a person who is in quarantine receives a negative COVID-19 test and has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 7. Get tested within 48 hours before ending quarantine.

There is a small chance that people who choose to shorten their quarantine period may transmit the infection to others post-quarantine. That’s why Vashon MRC’s doctors still recommend that people quarantine for the full 14 days if they can. Either way, it is critical that those who have been in quarantine continue to monitor their symptoms and wear a mask through Day 14. If they develop symptoms, they should isolate themselves to avoid infecting others and get tested.

Soon… a vaccine: DOH’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan update says DOH is hopeful they will have a vaccine to begin administering by mid-December. The federal government has allocated to Washington an estimated 62,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The state has been told to expect to receive around 200,000 initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine by the end of December; regular weekly shipments are slated to begin in January. In DOH’s distribution plan, the first phase of vaccination, called 1a, will focus on workers in healthcare settings that serve patients who have either confirmed or suspected COVID-19, along with staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

The latest on religious services: Governor Inslee updated COVID-19 rules for religious and faith-based organizations. In addition to remote and drive-in services, religious and faith-based organizations are permitted to conduct the following activities, provided all requirements are met. The requirements include six feet of physical distancing and cloth face coverings for all participants:

  • Hold indoor services at a place of worship with up to 25% of room capacity or up to 200 people, whichever is less,
  • Hold outdoor services with up to 200 individuals,
  • Hold or provide in-home services inside a person’s residence with up to five total individuals

A grim forecast: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, School of Medicine’s latest forecast projects that even with expected vaccine rollout, the United States will see 539,000 deaths by April 1. “Mass scale-up of vaccination in 2021 means we have a path back to normal life, but there are still a few rough months ahead,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, IHME director. “We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves at least through April, when, as our projections indicate, vaccines will begin to have an impact.”

Wear the mask says CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends “universal mask use” outside people’s homes — including when inside someone else’s home — as part of guidance aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, as the nation braces for what is expected to be the darkest period of the pandemic. In its weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report, the CDC warned that the United States has entered “a phase of high-level transmission” as colder weather and the ongoing holiday season send Americans inside, and said that “consistent and correct” use of face masks is crucial to tame the virus.

Grants awarded for small businesses: King County has awarded nearly $2.8 million in grants to small unincorporated-area businesses hurt by COVID-19, including 87 grants on Vashon. Among grant recipients who chose to share information about their businesses in their applications, nearly half identified as being owned by person(s) who are Black, Indigenous, or persons of color. The same proportion identified as being woman-owned.

EMERGENCY OPERATIONS

Emergency Operations Center (EOC): The EOC activated in response to the pandemic emergency on March 12th, nine months ago (274 days ago). Four EOC operational priorities continue, including health, food security, housing security and economic recovery.

Finance: The VashonBePrepared Board has approved its 2021 budget, which includes replenishment of the Vashon COVID Relief Fund. That rejuvenation has been possible because the 2021 budget includes a major new revenue source that will take the Relief Fund over the half-million-dollar mark since pandemic relief began. The significant breakthrough was achieved because federal reimbursement of relief funds — which normally could take a year or more — has now begun arriving early. VashonBePrepared and the EOC Finance Section have submitted detailed documentation on expenditures for meals, groceries, and rent relief through the King County Office of Emergency Management. King County Office of Emergency Management has covered the costs through a combination of Federal CARES Act funds and anticipated FEMA reimbursement funds. Nearly $150,000 has already arrived on Vashon, and by the end of January, the total reimbursement will exceed $200,000. The reimbursement effectively doubles about two-thirds of the community’s donated dollars, because the funds are being plowed back into community relief. Community donations to the Relief Fund have passed $335,000 so far in 2020. That means the total of all funding will rise well above $500,000. The Relief Fund was originally seeded with donations from two generous Vashon households who have asked to remain anonymous, totaling more than $200,000. A public fundraising campaign attracted more than 300 generous community members who donated another $130,000. In addition to replenishing the Relief Fund, the 2021 VashonBePrepared budget includes a reserve to ensure the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps COVID testing project remains well-funded by a reserve set aside for the purpose, and the budget also includes a reserve to cover a ramped up emergency response to current or future spikes in positive Vashon cases.

Relief and recovery: The Vashon COVID Relief Fund supports an array of social service and economic recovery efforts on the island. The relief fund has purchased itemized goods and services from partners including the Vashon Food Bank, Vashon Youth & Family Services, Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness, Saint Vincent de Paul Vashon, Vashon Senior Center, DOVE Project, Vashon Island School District nutrition program, Vashon Island Growers Association and the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce. VashonBePrepared’s innovative itemized purchase approach, used in place of the customary block grant technique, helped speed the reimbursements that replenished the Relief Fund. By the end of 2020, tge Vashon COVID Relief will have supported community relief totaling:

  • 15,806 meals (many of them delivered to homes and neighborhoods).
  • 3,280 bags of groceries (many delivered into the community).
  • 249 cases of rent and other household relief.
  • 1,000 one-on-one expert counseling sessions to help unemployed file for benefits.
  • 100 attendees at back-to-business workshops to aid safe reopening during Phase 2.

Unemployment assistance: The Vashon expert that has been helping workers get unemployment benefits reached a major milestone in her volunteer work. Deborah Diamond has now conducted more than 1,000 one-on-one consultations with workers, helping them to get unemployment benefits. Congratulations once again for a champion’s work in reaching another new height of service, Deborah. Her work originally began with the EOC’s Unemployed Worker Support Branch, and that function is now being handled by VashonBePrepared partner, the Vashon Chamber of Commerce. If you need help filing for unemployment, email deborah@vashonbeprepared.org or call (206) 200-3236.

ABOUT

This information is compiled from the Situation Reports produced by the EOC Situation Section and provided to The Beachcomber to help islanders stay informed and safe. To receive reports and other emergency information emails, go to VoiceOfVashon.org/AlertSignup.