Governor Inslee COVID-19 press conference today at 2:30 p.m.
Governor Jay Inslee will hold a press conference to provide an update on the state’s ongoing response to COVID-19 today, Thursday, July 23, at 2:30 p.m. The governor will accompanied by Washington Secretary of Health John Wiesman. You can watch the livestream here at 2:30 p.m. today.
Waiting for your COVID-19 test results? Here’s what you can do
Crossposted from Public Health Insider In the past few weeks, we have heard reports of longer wait times to get COVID-19 tests and delays in receiving test results in some instances. For most labs, the average time from testing to results being available has typically been one to three days, but recently it has been taking five to six days for tests done in some settings. Healthcare providers (or testers) then report results to patients. Because these are averages, some people may wait longer than these times. We believe these delays are… Read More
King County providing clear face masks to support deaf and hard of hearing people
King County will make clear face masks available to employees as part of its efforts to support deaf and hard of hearing people at work and in the community. Clear face masks are critical for the deaf and hard of hearing community, but they are only effective if the hearing community wears them. Therefore, it’s important that our customer-facing employees and employees who have deaf and hard of hearing coworkers have access to these types of masks. King County has ordered 3,600 clear face masks for customer-facing and other employees who may… Read More
Reminder: Need to see a health care provider during the pandemic? Try telehealth.
To protect themselves from the coronavirus, many people have chosen to delay non-emergency doctors’ visits and therapy appointments, hoping they can pause their medical needs until the pandemic is over. Unfortunately, we now realize the virus is likely here to stay for many more months. And so, we are faced with the challenge of developing strategies for safely navigating our new reality. Fortunately, King County employees and family members enrolled in Kaiser and Regence medical plans have access to telehealth services that allow you to virtually access board-certified, trained medical providers from… Read More
We’re listening to employees to support employees
The King County value “We respect all people,” encourages us to actively seek to learn and understand all perspectives, beliefs, and values, engage people in decisions affecting them, and recognize all people for their contributions and accomplishments. This has never been more important than during our COVID-19 response. With this in mind, and to more fully understand the impacts of COVID-19 on employees, more than 1,000 randomly selected Executive branch employees participated in a survey or listening session in May 2020 to share their experiences and opinions. This opportunity allowed employees from… Read More
What we heard from employees
Dear King County employee, Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking a lot about one of our King County values—We respect all people. At King County, we show respect by actively seeking to learn and understand all perspectives and engaging people in decisions that affect them. As we seek to stabilize during the pandemic and adapt to change, we surveyed more than 1,000 Executive Branch employees to better understand their current challenges, fears, and hopes for the future. We also held listening sessions with frontline employees and King County affinity groups… Read More
Video: July 10, 2020 Update on COVID-19 in King County with Dr. Jeff Duchin
Crossposted from Public Health Insider On July 10th, Dr. Jeff Duchin gave an update on the COVID-19 outbreak in King County and expressed urgency for our community to help prevent a further surge in cases. View the update below. “It is critical as a community we understand the long-term nature of this COVID-19 mess. None of us asked for this, none of us wanted this, but if we don’t deal with it, it will deal with us… We need long-term behavior change with respect to how close we get to one another, institutionalizing distancing, wearing… Read More
Welcome people of all abilities to your remote meetings and events!
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories Are you hosting remote meetings? King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) would like to share some advice that will make your meetings more accessible. Not too long ago, a pandemic might mean intense social isolation for some. Today, technology lets us stay connected in real time, if not in person. Remote interactions are a lifeline in this challenging time. Telework, remote visits with family, virtual tours, and online community engagement connect us with others while protecting our health. Read more.
Doing the right thing: Restaurants and COVID-19
Crossposted from Public Health Insider In response to rising COVID-19 cases county wide, Public Health – Seattle & King County is expanding efforts to educate and enforce compliance of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start COVID-19 reopening requirements in food establishments. The governor’s Safe Start business reopening requirements include that food establishments: Set up customer flow that allows for social distancing of 6 feet or more; Assure that employees and customers wear face coverings; Limit restaurant indoor and outdoor seating occupancy; and Take other important protective measures such as surface cleaning and employee health screening. … Read More
CDC updated the high-risk list. And it’s not just older adults.
Crossposted from Public Health Insider In spite of Washington State’s ongoing efforts to contain it, COVID-19 is spreading more rapidly by the day, especially among people aged 20-40. And while they are less likely to become seriously ill from the virus, they can still spread it to friends, family and neighbors – without even knowing they have it. Many young people are also in the higher risk categories recently updated by the CDC. Who’s at risk: An update Much about the virus remains a mystery, but we are learning more each week about… Read More
Employee News 