Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I wanted to send an update to our community with some resources and information about coronavirus from the Washington State Department of Health and Public Health: Seattle & King County. These resources include ways to keep yourselves and your loved ones healthy, and to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

In addition to the resources from our local and state health departments, I’d like to share a website put together by Mercer Island High School student Avi Schiffran. This website compiles data, maps, FAQs, prevention information and statistics. You can find the information here: https://ncov2019.live/data

If you’re currently experiencing symptoms of coronoavirus, please call your doctor. Don’t go to a clinic or hospital. Your doctor will make an assessment about next steps and contact public health officials if a test is needed.

If you are in King County and believe you were exposed to a confirmed case of coronavirus but don’t have a doctor to call, stay home and contact the King County novel coronavirus call center at 206-477-3977.

Symptoms of coronavirus include:

  • fever
  • cough
  • shortness of breath

The following measures can help keep you and loved ones healthy:

  • Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
  • Use hand sanitizers if you are unable to wash your hands.
  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Covering your coughs and sneezes with an elbow, sleeve or tissue.
  • Good personal health habits (diet/exercise).
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
  • Avoid touching your face.

Additional Resources:

The Washington State Department of Health has also established a call center to address questions. Given the high call volume, it is best to research general questions online if you can. If you need advice about what to do if you have symptoms, you can call 1-800-525-0127 and press #.

You can stay informed at these pages:

You can find information about how the situation affects school closures here.

What we are doing in Olympia

The Senate passed an operating budget last week that dramatically increased funding for coronavirus response with an additional $10 million for public health.

Much more funding is on the way. New legislation to transfer $100 million from the state’s Rainy Day Fund into the state disaster response account has passed the House, and we passed it the Senate yesterday (HB 2965).You can read more about that bill here.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email, phone or social media, including Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for the honor of serving you in Olympia.

Take care of yourselves and each other,
Lisa