SOUTH BEND - Governor Jay Inslee proclaimed a State of Emergency for all counties throughout the state as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). All schools in Washington were closed effective yesterday until April 27. Sunday night, Gov. Inslee added more protections against COVID-19. (See story page 1). As of Monday morning in the USA, 30 million students are staying home because 33 states have been forced to close schools.
The nightmare continues to wreak havoc on all of our usual routines in everyday life from social interaction to going to the library, which were all closed Friday. The virus spreads very easily and is 10 times worse than the flu. More than 6,000 people have died globally, there are 3,850 cases reported in America, and 164,000 worldwide.
From coast to coast, the coronavirus pandemic crisis is spreading faster than a New York Minute with concerns of not enough testing being done, shortage of hospital beds, a possible global recession, etc. Eight states have closed restaurants and bars to only takeout and delivery service, including Washington. People are panic-buying while hoarding stores of its supplies.The economical impacts are devastating with the possibility of 1 million jobs being lost in April. The DOW continues to plunge after the Federal Reserve System cut rates to zero for the first time since the global recession of a decade ago, and health officials maintain the worst is yet to come.
"We are not responding to aid calls unless specifically requested by RFD and we are limiting self-initiated activity to only what's necessary for public safety," Raymond Police Chief Chuck Spoor told the Herald.
"We are encouraging people to use our online resources," Raymond Timberland Library Manager Emily Popovich told the Herald.
On the local school fronts, the three school districts are doing all they can in light of the closings.
South Bend School District
South Bend Superintendent Dr. Jon Tienhaara communicated to the Herald how his district is facing the pandemic.
"These are certainly unprecedented times, I don't think we have ever faced anything quite like this before," Tienhaara said Sunday night. "That being said, I am very proud of how our district has pulled together working to make the best of this situation. Our teachers and classified staff have been awesome in stepping up and helping, and I knew they would. We have such a caring staff. I have also been contacted by numerous community members and business owners who have offered to help in any way possible. What a great community!
Tienhaara said on Monday, district administrators and teacher leaders "met to develop the framework of what will be our educational program. (Yesterday) all staff will come in and we will begin to implement our program plan. This will no doubt vary and look different depending on the grade level. We could see a mixture of both online resources, periodic two-way teacher/student communication via Zoom, and good old-fashioned paper-based packets. Our primary concern is ensuring we meet the needs for all students and that they have equal access to an education. This can be challenging, and something we will have to be creative with in accomplishing. I am hoping folks continue to have patience with us as we iron out any wrinkles."
Food Service Will Continue
"Food service will continue," Tienhaara said. "We are working to identify the best ways for getting the food out to students. Breakfast and lunch will be available at no charge to all students regardless of family income.
"We will also be providing childcare for any emergency responders and health care professionals," Tienhaara informed. "We are working on getting that system organized and hope to be starting up in a few days. I am very excited about this and our ability to be able to provide this. Amy Nelson and her child care staff are some of the best people in the business, and our emergency workers and health care professionals can rest assured their kiddos will be well cared for, allowing them to focus on their essential community services the rest of us depend upon.
"Finally, we will get through this challenge, and I think we will emerge as a stronger community as a result," Tienhaara added. "Challenges like these often bring out people's best, and remind us all that we depend on each other. I am confident in the folks we have working these issues and know we will meet the need."
Superintendent Nancy Morris
Willapa Valley Superintendent Nancy Morris discussed the effect the virus has on the Willapa Valley School District.
"The proclamation was made on Friday at 1:30 pm, and our staff and students were in a music assembly at the end of the day," Morris told the Herald. "This did not give teachers, staff, and students the opportunity to digest the information and make adequate plans. This school closure is going to be difficult for many students, and we felt both students and teachers needed the time to wrap up school for now and send their students off in a positive way with support in place. Students need to be able to take their personal belongings home, including band instruments and PE clothes. Students will also want to gather their books and instructional materials so they have the opportunity to continue with their studies independently."
Morris said that Monday, in a student assembly, students were given the chance to ask questions about the closure "and we will emphasize the importance of following social distancing measures. Having school open Monday (gave) us the opportunity to close school effectively.
"In addition, the governor's proclamation has tasked school districts with providing sack breakfast and lunch meals for any student in our districts who needs it," Morris said. He has also asked districts to help ensure that Emergency First Responders and health care workers have adequate daycare. We are working to put those services in place.
"During the closure, teachers will be either sending packets and worksheets home for students or creating online resources students can access," Morris continued. "There is a collection of online resources on our district webpage at www.willapavalley.org. Starting on Thursday, March 19, parents of students in grades 4-12 can come into their school office to borrow a Chromebook for their student to use for the duration of the school closure to access online resources. We are hoping to have the meal delivery plan in place beginning on Thursday, March 19. An Extended Closure Survey has been sent to parents and can be accessed from the district webpage to help us plan adequately for all our supports and services. We don't want to leave anyone out."
Willapa Valley and Raymond conducted full school days Monday, and South Bend's last day was Friday.
"The stipulation from OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction ) is that if a district offers online instruction to any students, it needs to do it equitably for all students," Morris said Sunday night. "We don't yet have that ability, especially for lower elementary students. So, our offerings are resources students can access as options to keep learning. Our elementary resources will be in print (worksheets, packets) and the middle (and) high is offering mostly online resources." Morris added that Valley administrators would be working on the plan (yesterday).
"I am being told we will not need to make anything up beyond June 19," Tienhaara said. "The other days will be waived by the state. Seniors will absolutely graduate, and we are working on a plan for them to continue their education requirements. Part of that program could include some online class work."
Dr. Stephen Holland
"Teachers are working to offer whatever support they can during this six-week period," Raymond Superintendent Dr. Stephen Holland told the Herald Saturday. "Certainly, online classes will be a part of what we do. We also plan to make meals available. We are still working through the best way to do this; it will likely be a mixture delivery of individual meals by bus and some feeding centers."
The Willapa Valley School district office will continue to stay open from 7:30 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday.
Mayors on Coronavirus
South Bend Mayor Julie Struck told the Herald, "There are zero patients or suspected patients in Pacific County. If and when there is an outbreak, we will post necessary information to the public on our website.
"I am confident that we are doing everything within our knowledge to be prepared," Struck said. "I attended a meeting with state, county, Willapa Harbor Hospital and municipal officials to discuss preparations and the city will coordinate our actions with the county health department should an outbreak occur in South Bend. The county health department is working with the state health department."
Struck attended a training exercise at the Pacific County Emergency Operations Center along with county, hospital and other municipality officials.
Struck said South Bend is braced to cover the situation in the case it worsens. "We would utilize our normal communication vehicles. Our city website, the city Facebook page, the local newspaper, posters and, should the outbreak become large enough, the Pacific County Emergency Management has the ability to phone every household in the area."
Asked what are the first steps to ensuring the safety of the public, Struck responded, "It is impossible to ensure the safety of the public. People are mobile and not everyone takes the necessary precautions of staying home, washing hands, sanitizing surfaces etcetera. Of course, we will advocate for doing so, but short of imprisoning people, you cannot isolate individuals from one another. The city has posted a sign on our door stating 'Are you feeling unwell? Please be courteous and use the drop box.' There is an arrow pointing to the drop box on the sign, as well as a cute smile face with a thermometer in its mouth."
Struck added, "I would look to the county and state health departments for guidance on closing offices and businesses. Each individual business is able to make (its) own decision should they desire to close before an official mandate came through. Closing offices and businesses is an extreme measure and would only be done in the case of an outbreak of great magnitude. Each individual in the community is able to stay at home and isolate themselves if they are concerned."
In case of an outbreak, Struck said, "We would close city hall and ask citizens to utilize the drop box out front for any payment or paperwork they may need to turn in. City employees would still be here to answer phones for anyone desiring to talk to someone. Contact with the public would be limited as much as possible by police and public works crew employees. Should a city employee come down with Coronavirus, this step would be enacted immediately to protect the public and that employee would be required to isolate themselves at home."
Monday morning Struck added, "In light of the new restrictions the Governor announced last night concerning restaurants and bars, I would like to add an encouragement for all people to please do what they can to support the restaurants and businesses that are being impacted. Use the "to go" option still allowed. If you have a neighbor or friend that is out of work, elderly or needs help - please be a good neighbor and help each other while maintaining the social distancing'. If you are unwell, please stay home and reach out to a relative or friend to bring the things you need to your house. These are unprecedented times."
Raymond Mayor Tony Nordin told the Herald, "We are closely following the recommendations from the county health department and will continue with business as usual unless notified of necessary changes as per their guidelines. We have added the health departments basic guidelines to our city website and will update as necessary."
As of late Sunday night,Stephanie Michael from the Pacific County Health and Human Services reported, "There are now 16 counties (Clark, Columbia, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Whatcom, Yakima) in WA State that have reported cases of COVID-19. For the latest numbers please visit https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus.
Michael offered a list of useful resources:
Pacific County: http://pacificcountyhealthdepartment.com/
WA State: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus
WA DOH Blog "Public Connection": https://medium.com/wadepthealth
WA DOH Hotline (6:00am-10:00pm): Call 1-800-525-0127 and press # for COVID-19 questions.
National: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Global: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Map Tracking: https://systems.jhu.edu/research/public-health/ncov/
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