FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 12, 2020
CONTACT: Heather Thomas, 425.508.4980
hthomas@snohd.org
Drive-thru Testing Schedule, Data Updates, and looking toward Phase 3
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – The Snohomish Health District is continuing its expanded community-based testing operations.
The schedule for the week of June 15 is as follows:
- Tuesday, June 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McCollum Park located at 600 128th St SE in Everett
- Wednesday, June 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sno-Isle Libraries branch located at 9701 271st St NW in Stanwood
- Thursday, June 18 from noon to 7 p.m. at McCollum Park
- Friday, June 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Sno-Isle Libraries branch located at 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd in Mukilteo
Testing will continue to be available to those who are:
- Sick and have developed any of the following symptoms within the last 14 days:
- Fever,
- Chills,
- Cough,
- Difficulty breathing,
- Fatigue,
- Muscle pain or body aches,
- Headache,
- Sore throat,
- Runny nose or nasal congestion, or
- New loss of taste or smell.
- Asymptomatic individuals who:
- Are a close contact of a confirmed case, or
- Live in a congregate setting, like a shelter, group home or assisted living facility, or
- Work in a location that has had a case,
- Part of a family or social network that has had a case, or
- Work in healthcare, EMS, law enforcement or other fields where work settings have a higher risk of catching or spreading COVID-19, or
- Are having testing required for health care, employment, or travel.
Registration is now open at www.snohd.org/drive-thru-testing.
These community-based testing sites are being operated by the Snohomish Health District, with volunteer support from the Medical Reserve Corps. This test will not use the rapid test machines, but rather the regular nasal swabs that are sent to a lab. Results are expected to be communicated back to individuals within 2-3 days.
Changes to Data Updates
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has made significant investments in time and resources to expand their data dashboards. This includes daily data at the county level, and plans to continue adding more.
Given this, and the need to focus staff time on activities that support getting to Phase 3, today is the last day that the Health District will publish detailed daily case count information. The DOH dashboards allow individuals to select Snohomish County (or any other county), and then hover over graphs to see daily numbers.
Instead of daily updates, the Health District will issue a weekly report on Fridays. That first weekly report is available online. Highlights from the 2-week period of May 24–June 6 include:
- Case rate for the 14-day period was 21.5 per 100,000
- Long-term care facilities were associated with just 11.9 percent of the cases
- More than half of the cases (51.6 percent) were 20-49 years old
With the outbreak now far advanced, daily changes in the cumulative counts are marginal. They also do not affect the Health District’s disease control actions, nor its recommendations for businesses and residents regarding prevention.
The Health District will continue to monitor any suggestion of geographic clustering. If a situation arises where a geographic location seems to be a driving risk factor, the Health District will promptly take appropriate actions, including notifying the affected community.
Summer Events and Looking Toward Phase 3
On June 5, Snohomish County moved to Phase 2 of the statewide Safe Start plan. For many, the first question was: What does Phase 2 mean? An earlier blog touched on that topic, and the governor’s website maintains a list of industry-specific business guidance. An online form also is available to submit questions.
However, with summer quickly approaching, a number of events and activities will look different this year. This has sparked another common question: When is Phase 3? To help answer some of those questions, the Health District has published a new blog: Summer Events and Looking Toward Phase 3.
The community is encouraged to help prevent the spread of illness and to support the response to this outbreak by staying informed and sharing reliable information. This is a very fluid situation and information will be updated at www.snohd.org/ncov2019 and the Health District’s social media channels.
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