Monday, March 23, Gov. Jay Inslee spoke directly to Washingtonians to announce he will sign a statewide order that requires everyone in the state to stay home. The order will last for two weeks and could be extended.
This Stay Home, Stay Healthy order is similar to orders that other governors, in places such as California and New York, issued last week.
This proclamation will:
"The less time we spend in public, the more lives we will save," Inslee said.
FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available for the state of Washington to supplement the state, tribes and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.
The President's action makes federal funding available for Crisis Counseling for affected individuals in all areas of the state of Washington.
Federal funding is also available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct federal assistance under Public Assistance, for all areas impacted by COVID-19 in the state of Washington. The federal cost share is 75 percent.
As most citizens know by now, on March 13 Governor Jay Inslee ordered all K-12 schools in Washington State to close from March 16 - April 24. That is a six-week closure. Despite these closures, students are still required to learn their curriculum during this time. How they're supposed to complete work in the upcoming weeks we'll get to in a second. There are many questions that need to be answered, like what the plan is and how Napavine is handling this. Thankfully the district office and Geoff Parks were sure to keep everyone in the loop.
It's hard to believe that a virus has changed the way we live today, but it has. Many of us had never heard of the coronavirus, the virus that would stop us in our tracks. Washington is not under a "stay at home" order yet, but if people don't take it seriously, we could be next.
The Herald reached out to Willapa Harbor Hospital Chief Executive Officer/Administrator Matthew Kempton, MHA, about the Coronavirus Pandemic that is surrounding the world. As of Friday, 24 of 39 Washington counties had reported cases of the virus; however, Pacific County was not one of them.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, we've all seen pictures of long lines at grocery stores and carts overloaded with toilet paper. Is your store experiencing "panic" buying? What items have been selling out?
Rick responded emphatically that "yes" Pioneer Grocery is definitely experiencing panic buying. People are buying large quantities of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, disinfection wipes and other paper products. Staple food items such as rice, beans, potatoes and canned goods have been hard to keep in stock. Bakeries aren't able to keep up with the demand for bread.
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