Extra precautions being taken locally to deal with coronavirus

Local cities, schools, first responders and others are all taking extra caution and preparations to help slow a potential outbreak of COVID-19.

The new coronavirus, also known by it’s scientific name COVID-19, is affecting Washington state as the majority of cases and deaths in the U.S. have been here.

As of March 6, the Snohomish Health District is reporting 15 cases in the county, including one death.

“The number of COVID-19 cases in the county is expected to change daily,” said Dr. Chris Spitters, health officer for the Snohomish Health District.

The district plans to provide two updates per day, around 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., although details on specific cases are unlikely to be available right away.

“I know that people are worried about the disease. First, remember that this is a mild or moderate illness for 80 percent of cases,” said Spitters.

The World Health Organization estimated the current death rate for the coronavirus at 3.4 percent on March 4.

That would make it more dangerous than the standard influenza virus, although experts say the death rate typically goes down as more testing is done as those with the most severe symptoms tend to be over-represented early as they are more likely to go to the hospital than those with mild symptoms.

Officials hope to slow the virus outbreak and have given a number of recommendations to the public.

“It is caused by a respiratory virus and we have proven methods that help prevent the spread of this kind of illness,” said Spitters.

On March 5 the Snohomish Health District released new recommendations to help prevent the spread of the illness.

“It is important we take action at this time when prevention strategies can make a large impact in the short run,” said Spitters.

He emphasized that the district is not mandating anything at this moment, merely giving recommendations.

Typical flu prevention techniques are encouraged, such as washing hands and avoiding touching your mouth or nose.

County Executive Dave Somers said simple behavior changes are a part of prevention.

“I think all of us noticed today that as we gathered how hard it was not to shake hands with each other,” he said. “Many of the recommendations that the doctor went over are our daily activities that are going to be hard to change."

Those with flu symptoms should keep away from others as much as possible.

“It is crucial that individuals with fever or symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath stay home and stay away from others,” said Spitters. “We urge employers to maximize sick leave and benefits."

Employees should also work form home if possible.

“If you cannot work from home, those people should minimize their contact with large groups of people,” said Spitters.

He recognized that these recommendations get harder for those without middle-class jobs.

“I acknowledge those are a burden and there are differential impacts based on the freedom individuals have to work from home and their income. We just hope that employers and the community at large can buffer that inequity of impact,” he said.

Spitters recommends avoiding non-essential gatherings of large groups, which the health district is defining as any space with more than 50 people.

“This is a good time to consider postponing events if possible,” he said.

If an individual does have flu-like symptoms, Spitters recommends calling their healthcare provider by phone.

“Anyone that is ill should stay home and stay away from others … unless you truly have an urgent need that requires immediate care,” he said. “We need to save that space for those who are moderately to severely ill and need the limited space at those facilities.”

He also said it is not necessary for everyone to have the coronavirus test, as they do not want to jam up the system. He added that the state will run out of tests if everyone with the cold gets tested.

Those with jobs with close contact with the elderly, such as first responders and healthcare workers, should get tested if they have symptoms though, Spitters said.

These efforts are meant to slow the coronavirus down, said Spitters.

“We do expect the number of cases to go up,” he said.

“Even with faithful following of these recommendations, we will not be able to terminate any new cases,” he said.

In preparation for the potential coronavirus outbreak many local jurisdictions have declared state of emergencies, including Snohomish County and the cities of Arlington and Marysville.

“Proclamations like this make it easier for us to work with our partners and use the best available strategies to keep our community safe and healthy,” said Spitters.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said the proclamation simply allows cities access to tools for faster response.

“This is not something that we want to be a cause for alarm. Declaring a proclamation of emergency and doing some of these other things are important for allowing your government to prepare or it will get worse,” he said.

Nehring said the proclamation allows the city better access to obtain equipment and potentially allows for reimbursement later if federal emergency funds become available.

The city should have better access to equipment now.

“A big one right now is those N95 masks … those are very different from the regular surgical masks,” he said. “And right now, it’s tough to get those."

Somers said the county also gains some additional authority because of the emergency proclamation.

“It does give me some authority to make decisions based on recommendations from the health officer,” he said. “It really allows us to move quicker when needed.”

The Snohomish Health District will be leading the decisions of the county, said Somers.

“I want to acknowledge the health district and all our public health officials at the local, state and federal levels,” he said. “Our role at the county level is going to support those officials that have the expertise to guide our actions.”

In addition to the proclamation local governments are also meeting frequently to discuss prevention tactics.

“We’re daily evaluating what events we should postpone or cancel,” said Nehring. “For example, we’re offering full refunds to anybody who doesn’t feel comfortable coming to a dance class or one of our events at the opera house,."

Tulalip officials are also getting together to talk about prevention as well.

“Tulalip Tribes emergency management has been activated,” said Ashlynn Danielson, emergency preparedness manager with the Tulalip Tribes.

“The leadership for the Tribes is taking COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, very seriously,” she said.

The Tribes are also talking about moving events to later if they are not necessary at this moment, but haven’t mandated any changes yet.

“We have encouraged some of the more non-essential meetings to be postponed,” said Danielson.

Local agencies are looking at policies and ways to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Custodial staff has been brought in to make sure we disinfect all those important touch points,” said Danielson.

Danielson encourages Tulalip locals to follow the Tulalip News Facebook page for further additional updates.

“We have been sharing all information that we have received,” she said. “We’ve been pushing local bulletins through there.”

Marysville officials have been preparing for various possibilities as well.

“We have a jail facility,” said Nehring. “We have to get policies and procedures in place if an outbreak happens in the jail. That’s a crisis-level situation."

Nehring said the city, like many other government agencies, is also sending employees home if they are sick with cold or flu symptoms.

Schools are also in close contact with the Snohomish Health District.

“For schools, we continue to be in close communication with our local superintendents,” said Spitters.

“We know that closures have a large impact on students, staff and families and require a lot of coordination and cause disruptions,” he said, adding that the health district has not required any school closures yet.

The Marysville School District had multiple school closures last week as community members in contact with students had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

Grove Elementary and the Early Learning Center were closed on March 3 and Pinewood Elementary, Sunnyside Elementary and Marysville Getchell High School were closed on March 6.

“This is a rapidly evolving health concern that we are taking very seriously,” said Jodi Runyon, director of engagement and outreach at the Marysville School District.

“We are also following the guidance of the Snohomish Health District and making decisions to close some schools out of an abundance of caution,” she said.

Although individuals in close contact with students have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, no staff or students in the Marysville School District have been diagnosed.

“We continue to keep the information updated on our website at www.msd25.org and strongly encourage everyone to use the universal health precautions as outlined by the health district,” said Runyon.

The Arlington School District also has no confirmed cases in students or staff and plans to keep communicating daily with family and staff, according to Gary Sabol, director of communications with the district.

“In addition, we’ve been letting folks know about our cleaning practices,” he said. “We’ve been wiping down all the desks, really focusing on those touch points.”

The district’s buses have been receiving cleanings with disinfectants as well.

“Again, we’re trying to address those points where lots of kids touch,” he said.

Age-appropriate curriculum is being delivered to students to emphasize tactics like thoroughly washing hands.

“The teachers are talking with the students about proper hygiene practices,” said Sabol.

Both districts are meeting frequently to assess the situation.

“We are constantly monitoring and taking steps to address the concerns,” said Sabol, and the district has partnered with Skagit Regional Health to respond to the outbreak.

The Arlington School District has not had to close any schools yet, and Sabol said they will follow the Snohomish Health District’s guidance.

“We’ve talked about it but it really comes down to what the Snohomish Health District recommends,” he said.

Local fire departments and districts are also following the health district’s guidance.

“It’s one message being put out to all the departments right now, everyone is taking similar precautions,” said Arlington Fire Chief Dave Kraski.

All the fire departments and districts are trying to keep their paramedics safe and available during the outbreak.

“If there are signs and symptoms we are limiting the one-on-one exposure for our first responders,” said Kraski.

Paramedics in Arlington and Marysville will begin to wear protective gear when they respond to patients with respiratory symptoms such as coughing or sneezing or if they have a fever.

“The mask is not the common surgical mask, they have a seal,” said Christie Veley, public education and information specialist with the Marysville Fire District.

“If they’re transporting a patient they’ll wear a gown as protection as well,” she said.

Veley said these are largely precautions.

“This gear doesn’t mean that the patient we're responding to has the coronavirus. We don't test for coronavirus,” she said.

The end goal of the precautions is not complete quarantine but to slow the spread of the coronavirus so that less people overall are infected, said Spitters.

“These are meant to slow or reduce the spread of the disease and really protect the vulnerable populations as best we can,” said Somers.

Although the death rate is estimated around 3 percent currently, that number increases sharply for those over 60 or those with compromised health systems.

“A lot of the actions here are about protecting those vulnerable populations,” said Somers.

For the latest information, go to the Snohomish Health District’s website at https://www.snohd.org/484/Novel-Coronavirus-2019.