COVID-19 Vashon Situation Report
The Vashon Emergency Operations Center produces this briefing for our emergency workers and for the community. The situation report is published Tuesday and Friday and includes information on Vashon community response actions and support.
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Current Virus Statistics:
Vashon Island COVID-19 Case Count as of 11/20/20:
- 2,690 Total persons tested, 57 persons tested since last Situation Report Tuesday
- 42 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, 4 new cases since last Sit Report Tuesday
- Date of last positive test: November 20
- 1 person had been hospitalized. Date of last hospitalization: April 10
- 0 Vashon deaths
King County COVID-19 Case Count as of 11/20/20:
- 37,435 confirmed positive cases, 2,226 new since last Situation Report on Tuesday
- 835 deaths, 6 new since last Situation Report on Tuesday
Washington State COVID-19 Case Count as of 11/19/20:
- 139,543 confirmed positive cases, 8,011 new since last Situation Report Tuesday
- 2,619 deaths, 71 new since last Situation Report on Tuesday
NOTE: Federal law prohibits Public Health - Seattle & King County from releasing the names of patients (HIPAA Act). For consistency of day-to-day data reporting for Vashon, the EOC uses only the Zip code data from the Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) dashboard.
Local COVID Activity:
Vashon's positivity rate continues at around 2% over the last two weeks, less than one-third the rate being reported over the last two weeks in mainland King County. That means 2% of all Vashon residents being tested at all on- and off-island locations are coming back positive for COVID-19. Over the last six weeks, Vashon has recorded 15 positive tests. With thousands of people commuting off island daily, it's important to understand that many islanders are being exposed to the disease as they go about their business off island and then come home, potentially carrying COVID-19.
A Vashon restaurant closed today and will stay closed tomorrow, pending some just-in-case COVID-19 tests that are being expedited by the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps. O Sole Mio and Cafe pizza restaurant and Caffe Vino Olio coffee shop owners elected to close as a special precaution because an employee had a secondary exposure to someone who tested positive, which is not normally considered a close contact. The closure exceeds normal practice, but the owners took the step pending some precautionary testing with results expected back over the weekend.
The Sugar Shack restaurant closed today due to a COVID-19 exposure and will remain closed all next week until a planned reopening on November 30th. Deep cleaning is underway. An employee who worked a few lunch shifts last week and Monday of this week has tested positive for COVID-19. The affected employee did not handle food and was asymptomatic, but got tested as a precaution based on a possible exposure. All employees have been tested and the restaurant awaits results of those tests. The location has followed COVID-19 safety protocols since the pandemic began, including masking employees, good ventilation, and sanitizing credit card equipment after every use.
Vashon Island School District notified the community this morning that there has been a positive COVID-19 case on the construction site for the new District maintenance building. A contractor for the District is isolating at home and any close contacts have been asked to get tested and to quarantine.
Health Tips:
With the extreme spike in of COVID-19 cases, a seasonal flu vaccination takes on significant importance. COVID and the flu have similar symptoms, making it difficult to know which you have without COVID testing. The flu is known to suppress your immune system, making it easier to contract COVID. An outbreak of the flu could cause strain on an already overloaded hospital system, so flu shots have both personal and societal benefits. Our best estimate is that about 3,600 Vashonites have received flu shots through Vashon Pharmacy, the big drive-through clinic event last month, or at the two local clinics. Other residents have likely been vaccinated off-island.
Islanders who still need to get their flu vaccination have a way to find out where they can get one. The Medical Reserve Corps has compiled a directory of island providers who will provide vaccinations, including hours, cost, insurance coverage, and appointment info. Visit the Vashon Flu Vaccine Provider Directory in English or Spanish at https://vashonbeprepared.org/fluvaccine.
Flu vaccinations are available for uninsured Vashon residents. Arrangements have been made for VashonBePrepared to cover the cost of vaccinations for residents without insurance, or whose insurance is not accepted at Vashon Pharmacy. This is possible thanks to two generous donors as well as a decision by Vashon Pharmacy to provide the vaccinations at their cost. For more information on vaccination providers, go to our English/Spanish Flu Vaccine Provider Directory at: https://vashonbeprepared.org/fluvaccine
New Developments since Last Report:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends against Thanksgiving travel. As COVID cases explode across the nation, the CDC on Thursday recommended against traveling or gathering for the holiday, urging Americans to consider celebrating in their own households instead. “At the individual household level, what’s at stake is basically the increased chance of one of your loved ones becoming sick and then being hospitalized and dying,” said Henry Walke, the CDC’s COVID-19 incident manager. For holiday pandemic tips, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
Thanks to a local initiative, Vashon Island now has available a zero-risk antidote for a particular type of drug overdose. It's an easy to use nasal spray called Naloxone and it helps answer an increasing problem in King County and on Vashon. “The pandemic has made the problem much worse," according to Jinna Risdal, leader of the Community Care Team unit of the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps. "The last eight months have been very hard for many people, really making an already bad problem much worse." Naloxone (brand name Narcan) can immediately revive someone who has taken an overdose of opioid pills or powders, including other types of pills or powders that have been laced with fentanyl. To be effective, the antidote must be available right when it's needed - in the right place and the right time. The new Vashon nonprofit Project Narcan Vashon will answer questions or respond to Naloxone requests any time of day or night at (877) 463-7685. All requests are strictly confidential. The remedy is also available at Vashon Pharmacy or Seattle Needle Exchange. More distribution will be available soon. You can get an update at the website: https://projectnarcanvasho.wixsite.com/pnvsaveslives
Vashon Community Care Rolls Back: Vashon Community Care (VCC) residents had a brief respite from strict COVID-19 safety restrictions, but the facility has now responded to the Governor’s orders to tighten up. VCC has rolled back to Phase 1 COVID-19 control. Executive Director Wendy Kleppe said in a note to VCC families that she was announcing the roll back “with a very heavy heart.” She said: “While it feels very much like a yo-yo, we are keeping our smiles on and staying strong.” Phase 1 guidelines mean residents may still have outdoor visits with two people from the same household for an hour per day. But residents will not be able to have visitors inside the building, with some very narrow exceptions, and residents will not be able to mingle in common spaces. Meals will be taken in rooms instead of the dining area for everyone’s safety. There are more details in the notification sent to VCC families.
Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) plans to keep their retail gallery open to help artists sell their works. A VCA announcement committed to continued stringent safety measures. New State restrictions call for no more than 25% capacity, but VCA will reduce further to 5% (no more than 25 visitors), and will continue to require mask wearing, hand sanitizing, social distancing, and require guests to register so guests can be properly traced if the need arises. All visitors will be limited to no more than 30 minutes to view and/or purchase art.
Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is providing direct support grants to licensed child care providers for stabilization, to assist with reopening and staying open, to offset increased costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and to incentivize providers to serve school-age children. The goal of the grants is to help ensure a stable, functional and flexible child care system that supports providers and families during COVID-19. Learn more at https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/coronavirus-covid-19/early-learning/covid19-grant
New round of financial assistance coming soon. Governor Inslee and the State Department of Commerce announced expanded economic support for small businesses and renter, in the form of loan and grant program totaling $135 million – more than double the previously announced programs. The programs will include $70M in grants for business support. Priority will go to hard hit business sectors including small businesses, restaurants and fitness centers, while another $30M program will provide recovery loans to businesses. A residential rental assistance program will have $20M in funding for rent payments that will help both tenants and landlords. A further, $15M will be allocated to utility assistance for those struggling to pay utility bills. The State Department of Commerce will have information about eligibility and maximum grant/loan amounts on its website within about a week.
Gov. Inslee announces cap on third-party delivery fees to help restaurants. The proclamation caps food delivery fees at 15% and total fees at 18% of the purchase price of an order, to help more diners patronize restaurants. Third-party delivery platforms have seen increased usage as fewer people are dining indoors this year due to health restrictions and concerns over contracting COVID-19. https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/proclamations/proc_20-76.pdf
The Washington Exposure Notifications phone app will be made available statewide on November 30th. The phone app, currently in pilot testing, provides an easy, automated way to find out if you might have been close to another person who tested positive for COVID-19 for a sustained period of time, and connects you with the resources you need if you are exposed. Using WA Exposure Notifications is entirely your choice and you can turn the system off or deactivate the app at any time. The stated promises that WA Exposure Notifications will never collect, track, or store your location, GPS information, or personal information. Visit: https://wanotify.uw.edu/index.html
The Seattle Office of Emergency Management has a new YouTube channel offering free online training videos. The channel includes a variety of videos to improve personal disaster skills and training. The short videos can be particularly useful to Vashonites, due to our remoteness and limited services. Some of the most recent training videos includes the skills to stop the bleeding. Visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTKDB2o9nET_Q97nKPH78Fw
As reported positive COVID cases in King County continue to skyrocket, concerns have also focused on availability of hospital beds. In the current 14-day average, the percent of positive cases that required hospitalization have increased from 3% to 7.9%. This, along with the increase in positive tests could quickly fill open hospital beds. A couple of hospitals report they have already started to reduce elective procedures and surgeries in anticipation of a hospital surge. While current ICU capacity across the county remains at approx. 23%, it is normal for the hospitalization numbers to lag behind testing numbers by a week or two. https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/daily-summary.aspx
CDC continues to watch for links between COVID-19 and animals. Based on the limited information available to date, the risk of animals spreading COVID-19 to people is considered to be low. COVID spreads mainly from person to person through respiratory droplets from coughing, sneezing, and talking. At this time, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus. Treat pets as you would other human family members – do not let pets interact with people outside the household. If a person inside the household becomes sick, isolate that person from everyone else, including pets. Do not wipe or bathe your pet with chemical disinfectants, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or other products, such as hand sanitizer, counter-cleaning wipes, or other industrial or surface cleaners. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html
Progress on Community Support Operations:
Emergency Operations Center (EOC): The EOC activated in response to the pandemic emergency more than 8 months ago (254 days ago). Incident Commander Fire Chief Charlie Krimmert and the VashonBePrepared Board of Directors have set operational priorities on health, food, housing security and economic recovery. Work continues with over a dozen community partners to achieve those goals. The process is underway to reaffirm those priorities for 2021.
Medical Reserve Corps: The MRC COVID-19 testing site set a new record this week, testing 120 people. The team of MRC and CERT volunteers also set a record today by testing 40 people in a single day. For context, there were long periods during the initial activation when 40 tests would have been a big week but today that number will be completed in one day. The weekly testing volume has more than doubled from an average of 55 tests per week just a month ago.
EOC/Situational Awareness: The Situational Awareness Section and Medical Reserve Corps have been closely watching the spike in cases on the mainland. Even though the positive test statistics on Vashon remain low compared to King and Pierce counties, about one-third of the island's population take ferry round trips each day to work, shop, attend school, and go to medical appointments. That means the "moat" around the island does not protect island residents from COVID-19 and the spike of mainland cases continues rising to alarming levels. The seven-day running average of new daily cases is up to well over 500, roughly double the number seen a few weeks ago.
Vaccination Planning: A team of representatives from the EOC and the MRC have been gathering information on potential COVID-19 vaccine capability on Vashon, when the COVID vaccine becomes available. Although it will be some time before the vaccine is widely available to the public, Vashon Pharmacy and Vashon Natural Medicine report that they are on the list to receive quantities. Nationally, vaccine developments have dominated the news media but both the Pharmacy and the VNM clinic emphasized that the initial vaccine availability will be prioritized for those who most need it, such as hospital workers and residents of care facilities. So, even though quantities have been ordered it is not yet clear when supplies would be available on the island. The Vashon MRC is not planning to dispense vaccinations but will be available to support the work with logistics and public information communications.
Sustaining the Arts: Vashon EOC and MRC have completed a consultation project with Vashon Center for the Arts. We collaborated with VCA on their safety procedures for keeping their retail gallery space open safely, taking into account the new capacity controls ordered by the Governor and other measures such as a step-by-step procedure for customers to be safe as they enter the space.
