So it’s real, it’s here, and we have to deal with it: Covid-19 Coronavirus.
We are going to make sure that real time relevant information is not hidden from you behind a paywall for as long as we need to make this info available.
Most of us with a lick of common sense understand that this is serious. Unfortunately we are being inundated with bizzare, even harmfully incorrect information daily.
So my goal is to try to separate fact from fiction.
Buying 200 rolls of toilet paper is not going to save you.
Hand sanitizers only work to a certain point
Do not touch your face, put your fingers in your mouth, put your fingers in your eye, or pick your nose.
Keep hydrated, self quarantine if you are vulnerable or have been exposed, or can expose someone else at risk.
Sanitizing wipes just move the virus around, the best practice is to spray any infected area and do not wipe it.
For those buying up all the beans and rice: Beans are good, lots of protein. Rice, bad, it is starch, starch turns into sugar, viruses feed off of sugars.
Vitamin supplements are great as a daily maintenance regimen. There has been no guidelines that are backed with research in this emerging pandemic.
The best advice would be to support your immune system in any way as possible with the understanding that taking too much of anything can be dangerous, except Vitamin C.
Scientifically speaking, to date, there has been no evidence that it makes a difference one way or another.
I have been taking Zinc, Eldeberry, Vitamins A, B-Complex, Vitamin C, Emergen-C, Airborne, and a Multivitmin and Mineral Supplement because I have a compromised immune system amd COPD. I have also been eating as much garlic as humanly possible and drinking Goldenseal Echinacea tea with raw honey and fresh ground ginger root. I am symptomatic and have been exposed to two different fellow employees who have tested positive and recently visited the affected areas of China, yay me!
One thing that I need to stress emphatically is right now is not the time to fall into media hype, conspiracy theories, and political mudslinging. We all need to just hunker down, protect ourselves, self quarantine, and stay calm.
We are Americans, we have survived worse than this, we will get through this.
It seems that updates are very fragmented, from various cities and towns so the following is a list of links to each city’s websites for real time updates. Please note it may say city even if it’s a town, I don’t feel good so semantics are not my priority at this time, sorry.
City of Arlington
City of Bothell
City of Brier
City of Darrington
City of Edmonds
City of Everett
City of Gold Bar
City of Granite Falls
City of Lake Stevens
City of Lynnwood
City of Marysville
City of Mill Creek& Martha Lake
City of Monroe
City of Mountlake Terrace
City of Mukilteo
City of Snohomish
City of Stanwood
City of Sultan
City of Woodway
Tulalip Tribes
Perhaps the most troubling thing is that the Snohomish County Dept of Emergency Management does not have an aggregate news feed, or even any info on a Covid response, this is alarming because that is the department that will have to coordinate with Federal Authorities if the need arises.
The Snohomish County Health Dept also has a lot of valuable information as well though
Snohomish County has news and updates pretty regularly as well. Here is the latest release of closings, and other relevant news items
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — In consultation with other Snohomish County leaders, Executive Dave Somers today announced the restriction of public access to select county facilities, primarily those in the Administration Buildings on the county campus, starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at 8:00 a.m.These county facilities will be closed to the public until further notice, with limited exceptions.
“COVID-19 is impacting our daily lives, and we must adapt to a new normal,” said Executive Somers. “We are making science-based decisions at the recommendation of our health officers. We know these measures are extremely disruptive for our families and businesses in the short term, but they are necessary for our health and the well-being of our community in the long term. To save lives and preserve our health care system, we must enforce these social distancing measures. In order to protect the public and our employees we will close some county facilities to the public starting tomorrow. We will continue to do what we can to disrupt the infection rate and keep our community healthy.”
Here are the county departments and services that remain accessible to the public during the restriction of public access to the Administrative Buildings:
Snohomish County COVID-19 phoneline for Daily Updates 425-388-3944
Basic Health and Other Human Service Programs
Health and Human Services will offer limited services by phone, e-mail, FAX and mail for Energy Assistance, Homeless Housing, Housing and Essential Needs, and Veterans Services
The Medical Examiner’s Office remains open.
Public Safety and Access to Criminal Justice System
The Sheriff’s Office will continue to respond to 911 calls and ensuring the jail provide a safe, secure and humane detention facility. Homeless Registered Sex Offender (RSO) check-ins have moved to the 1st Floor of the Courthouse (Tuesdays) and all other RSOs can check-in Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
District Court until April 24, all civil and traffic matters, with the exception of protection orders and compliance hearings, have been suspended. Criminal matters are limited to essential motions as outlined in the Emergency Order. The jail calendars will continue as before. Civil and criminal matters may be heard upon approval of a judicial officer.
Access to Snohomish County Public-Facing Services
The Sheriff’s Office will process concealed pistol licenses (CPLs) at the Courthouse Monday-Friday between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Snohomish County Jail reception area will be closed.
Attorneys will have access through Inmate Accounts with proper identification.
The passenger terminal at Paine Field, Public and all County parks remain open.
Public Records requests and services will be by appointment only
The following departments and/or services have limited access for the public. Please refer to the individual department websites for more information:
Assessor’s Office
Auditor’s Office
Carnegie Resource Center
The Diversion Center is not accepting new clients.
Finance
All non-mandated fingerprinting services from the Sheriff’s Office are suspended until further notice
Hearing Examiner
Human Resources
Performance Auditor
Prosecuting Attorney
Public Advocate
Public Works – business will be conducted by phone or through email
Snohomish Health District (except for certain off-site inspections)
Superior Court criminal cases have been postponed until April 24 and civil cases until June 1.
Treasurer’s Office
The state also has resources that you will most likely need depending on the length of this ordeal.
Governor Inslee has announced a moratorium statewide on evictions. Utility, cable, and other companies are also trying to work with the public
President Trump has enacted the Stafford Act, and the house and senate have laid aside their political agendas for the most part to create other emergency legislation. That will also help with other funds to help ease the burden of the current situation.
For those of us who can only work part time, or have recently started a new job, it appears that Employment Security may be changing the requirement rules. My advice is to apply the moment you are laid off or have been asked to self quarantine because they will probably deny you but if they change the rules they may be able to back date your benefits.
Please contact your creditors at this point to see what types of assistance they may have, and don’t think for one minute that the moratorium on evictions is your ticket to free rent for a couple of months. At the end of the day landlords still will have some protections as well.
So why are we getting so many different reports and conflicting information? Well this little bug is a shapeshifter… it is mutating as fast as scientists can research it.
There is an unverified post going around on Facebook that explains the virus, I say unverified because it claims to be from a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist but I can not find a real reference to it.
I did however just spend 4 hours reading the medical notes and it seems to be a pretty easy to understand synopsis of the actual research up to date.
This is from an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University. He provides clarity in explaining why coronavirus isn’t just like the flu…🦠🦠 “Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand…It has to do with RNA sequencing…. I.e. genetics.Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year… you get immunity two ways…through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.Novel viruses, come from animals…. the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans… then it’s a problem, Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.Now…. sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human… once that happens..we have a new contagion phase. And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..H1N1 was deadly….but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu. It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.Fast forward.Now, here comes this Coronavirus… it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long…but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people. At first, only animals could give it to a person… But here is the scary part…. in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human. Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). Took off like a rocket. And this was because, Humans have no known immunity…doctors have no known medicines for it.And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza…. this one is slippery AF. And it’s a lung eater…And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain s, and strain L….which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.We really have no tools in our shed, with this. History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics. Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.And let me end by saying….right now it’s hitting older folks harder… but this genome is so slippery…if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.
