COVID-19 Information & Resources

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Please visit https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health.aspx for the latest COVID-19 information. 

• Park Amenities Update – Oct 2020

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  We will begin to open additional park amenities such as playgrounds, the skatepark, docks, and beaches starting today. We anticipate these amenities will be less crowded with cooler weather in the fall and winter months. The plan is also to restart rentals at City-owned athletic fields in accordance with the governor’s recent guidelines for adult/youth sports.

  We are adding temporary handwashing stations to park playgrounds that do not have brick and mortar restrooms: Big Rock Park, NE Sammamish Park, and Lower Sammamish Commons.

  
  

  To prevent the spread of COVID-19 in accordance with the Governor's guidance practice social distancing maintaining six feet or more of space, wear masks/face coverings when unable to social distance, carry personal hand sanitizer and wash your hands frequently. Please recreate responsibly to help keep park amenities open!

  
  

  

  

  
  

  
  

• Emergency Manager's Report to City Council on COVID-19 (October 20, 2020)

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  Andrew Stevens, CEM - Emergency Manager -Eastside Fire & Rescue

  Good evening Mayor, Council members, and City Manager.

  
  

  Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. States are seeing numbers equal to or greater than earlier spikes in the pandemic. Currently, the seven-day average is now more than 58,000 new cases a day in the U.S and just last week 17 states posted new daily records of infections.

  
  

  The State of Washington is now nearing 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with King County counting as roughly ¼ of all statewide cases. Sammamish is showing 311 cases, five new since yesterday. Of the key indicators of COVID-19 activity defined by the WA State of Public Health, King County is failing to meet five out of the eight metrics. Most notably King County currently is registering a 14-day average of 92 new cases per 100K, where the target is less than 25.

  
  

  

  Fig 1: King County Covid-19 Positive Cases Dashboard – Updated 10.20.2020 1:56 PM

  
  

  As I mentioned during my last report, there has been no major difference, other than individual behavior, that appears to be the cause of these massive nationwide number increases. Colder weather is driving people indoors, they are gathering in larger groups, returning to schools and places of business, or they are simply growing fatigued from the fight against COVID. So, I urge everyone to please continue making the best possible choices on how they mitigate this continued and ongoing threat.

  
  

  At the last Council meeting, the Sammamish City Council requested ongoing reports on how the City is spending money on COVID-19 response and recovery. As promised, here is a summary of those expenses to date:

  
  

  • $207K to ensure continuity of government – primarily IT related telework expenses
  • Roughly $12K in personnel overtime
  • $94K in emergency protective measures that include PPE, sanitation and hygiene, signage, external communications, and more. Of that $94K, the City will be seeking a FEMA emergency reimbursement of roughly $70K
  • $420K in small business grants – which includes $98K in pass-through CARES Act funding from King County
  • $315K in non-profit/human services grants

  In all, the City has spent roughly $950K in COVID-19 response and recovery, not including the pass-through CARES funds from King County. As these numbers change, Council will continually be informed at each regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

  
  

  With that, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.

• Emergency Manager's Report to City Council on COVID-19 (October 6, 2020)

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  Andrew Stevens, CEM - Emergency Manager -Eastside Fire & Rescue

  Good evening Mayor, Council members, and City Manager.

  Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  Across the nation, we are again seeing spikes in Coronavirus case numbers. Roughly one half of all US States are seeing increasing positive cases, including Washington. Overall, the United States now has more than 7.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began and claimed more than 210,000 lives. That number places COVID-19 as the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, trailing behind only heart disease and cancer. Another point to highlight is that last week, a report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Health Association showed that the number of children infected with the virus nationally rose dramatically, more than 14% in the past two weeks alone, a surge that coincided with schools reopening.

  After nearly two months of decline, King County has now seen nearly three straight increases in positive cases. As schools across the region reopened, and colder weather is driving more people inside, the county is experiencing more and more localized outbreaks. Locally, the City of Sammamish has seen 26 new positive cases in the last two weeks.

  The point of all this is COVID-19 is still very much a present and ongoing threat. Since there have not been any recent, significant changes to the recommended COVID-19 mitigations in either the County or the State, then these increases are most likely tied to individual choices. As more and more people lower their guard against this virus, resume gathering in groups outside of their households, do not maintain social distancing with others, or fail to wear proper face coverings, these outbreaks will continue. I urge all residents to continue to stay the course and do everything in their power to eliminate their own personal risk. This may be especially hard as holidays approach, but it is critical that we continue to slow the spread of this virus. Since many traditional holiday activities, such as trick-or-treating, are considered high risk, I recommend everyone consider safer, alternative ways to celebrate. The City of Sammamish, for example, is hosting a virtual costume and pumpkin decorating contest. The CDC also recently posted guidance on holiday celebrations full of recommendations and ideas for alternative low-risk activities.

  Since the onset of this crisis, Sammamish has taken a proactive approach to reducing risk and mitigating COVID-19 hazards. Months ago, a phased approach regarding the reopening of city programs and facilities was brought before this council, and while some jurisdictions in the region have decided to reduce their own restrictions, staff believe that this is premature and will only lead to unnecessary risk and additional exposures. This is why staff recommends the continued closure of public playgrounds, docks, beaches, and the skatepark until the County is in Phase 3. While this is certainly a policy decision that Council could reverse, staff’s recommendation would be to not loosen any current restrictions at the same time we are seeing nearly three straight weeks of increased COVID cases.

  Lastly, following many disasters, those impacted usually see early support or assistance that quickly fades away. The response phase of most crises ends in the first 72 hours, and then transitions into short and long-term recovery, the latter of which can last for months or years. The difference between COVID-19 and other disasters is that we’re seven months into this crisis and we are still in the response phase. For months, talks on continued federal COVID-19 assistance have failed and just today they were ordered to be placed on hold until November. Provided that this pandemic will continue, and may worsen until significant advancements in medical interventions are developed, communities need to consider how they will continue their own response and recovery efforts for many more months to come.

  Thank you.

• Sammamish City Council Unanimously Votes “Yes” to the City Manager’s Recommendation to Seek Reimbursement of $2.9M in CARES Act Funding; Action Earmarks $2.9M Towards Continued COVID-19 Response into the Winter Months and 2021.

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  October 7, 2020

  Contact: communications@sammamish.us

  Upon the recommendation of the City Manager and staff, the City Council unanimously voted last night to seek reimbursement of the $2.9M of CARES Acts Funds towards Eastside Fire & Rescue (EF&R)’s COVID-related expenses.

  This action makes available $2.9M in the City’s budget (that would have been spent on the EF&R contract) to be dedicated to continued COVID-19 response, without the time restrictions associated with federal funds. This will ensure the City of Sammamish is prepared in the event of a resurgence of the pandemic during the winter months.

  Background

  The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) created the Coronavirus Relief Fund which provided $150 billion in direct assistance to states, territories and tribal areas.. Washington State distributed over $400M to municipalities, of which the City of Sammamish was awarded $2.9M.

  The funds can only be accessed on a reimbursement basis for eligible expenditures incurred between March 1 – November 30, 2020.

  Eligible Expenses

  Based on guidance from the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Department of Treasury, payroll expenses for public safety employees such as EF&R firefighters and emergency medical personnel are considered “substantially dedicated to COVID-19 response” and are considered a “substantially different use” than from the budgeted expense.

  Commerce was unequivocal in affirming that budgeted EF&R payroll expenses are an eligible use of CARES funds as they meet the criteria established by the Department of Treasury.

  Benefits

  This strategy enables the City to continue providing financial support from its general fund to the community beyond November 30^th.

  With indications that there will be a second wave of COVID-19 infections as we head into the winter months, this strategy ensures longer term funding is available to support residents, non-profits and small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

  COVID-Related Expenditures to Date

  To date, the City has spent over $1M on COVID-19 response and recovery activities from its general fund, including:

  • Emergency support grants to non profit organizations
  • Small business support grants
  • Expenditures incurred to support government operations such as teleworking equipment, space modifications, and PPE

  The Emergency Manager will include a monthly tally on COVID-19 related expenditures when he provides his COVID-19 update to Council.

  Additionally, the Communications team at the City of Sammamish will continue to report actions taken by the City Council on COVID-19 response on its website’s News tab.

  Q&A on Connect Sammamish

  Disinformation about COVID-19 is harmful to the community.

  Sammamish residents with questions about COVID-19 and the City’s response are encouraged to ask the City directly on its Coronavirus information portal on Connect Sammamish: https://connect.sammamish.us/covid-19-updates.

  Attachments

  The full CARES Act Implementation Agenda bill is here.

  The slides presented by staff to Council last night are here.

  
  

• Governor Inslee announces updates to Safe Start reopening plan

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  The following is from a news statement released from the Governor's office:

  Gov. Jay Inslee today announced several updates to Washington's Safe Start reopening plan. The changes seek to align guidance and adjustments to regulations of several industries.

  "We’re doing this now because we have had ongoing conversations with businesses about how to do these activities safely," Inslee said at a press conference Tuesday. "Instead of tightening restrictions, we can roll some more back to allow safer operation of these activities. Here in Washington, we know the threat of COVID is real and we take it seriously. It is safety, and public health, that come first before anything else in this unprecedented time."

  Following a spike in COVID cases in July, Inslee announced a pause to the Safe Start reopening plan. With today’s announcement, all 39 counties will remain in their current phases, but the governor’s announcement allows for more activity in some of the phases.

  The updated guidance is effective immediately.

  Libraries

  These guidelines will align regulations with that of museums, allowing some indoor activity in Phase 2 at 25% capacity.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Youth/Adult Sports

  These guidelines will align school related and non-school related sports guidance. Tournaments and crowds are prohibited in counties that aren’t in the low-risk category, but these guidelines will allow more school and non-school sports, both indoor and outdoor, according to a combination of local metrics. These metrics are aligned with state metrics for school opening recommendations. It also provides specific protocols for transportation, group size and facial coverings.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Movie Theaters

  These guidelines will allow for occupancy in Phase 2 at 25% and 50% in Phase 3. Theater attendees will be required to maintain a 6 feet social distance between households and to wear facial coverings at all times when not eating and drinking.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Restaurants

  These guidelines will move alcohol cutoff from 10 PM to 11 PM for Phases 2 and 3, as well as eliminates the indoor household member restriction for indoor dining. Additionally, the guidelines will allow for the increase of table size to six in Phase 2 and eight in Phase 3.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Wedding Receptions

  These guidelines will increase the total number of wedding reception attendees to 50 in Phase 3.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Retail Events (craft sales shows, etc.)

  These guidelines will expand the miscellaneous venues guidance to allow outdoor retail event shows in Phase 3 only, capping attendance to 200 people.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Real Estate

  These guidelines will allow for open houses, but limit attendance by the counties' gathering size limit in accordance to their Phase.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Outdoor recreation (running/bicycling/etc.)

  These guidelines will provide protocols for Phases 2 and 3 for races, bicycle tours and rides, runs, cross country skiing races, biathlons, canoe and kayak races, marathons, cross country running competitions, triathlons, and multi-sport competitions with more than 12 participants.

  Read the memo here.

  Read the full guidance here.

  Water Recreation Facilities

  This guidance updates the current guidance for water recreational activities and facilities in Modified Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 counties.

  Read the memo here.

  Read the full guidance here.

• Sammamish City Council Approves Small Business Recovery Grants

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  On September 1, 2020, the Sammamish City Council approved the distribution of $10,000 each to 42 eligible small businesses who have been impacted adversely by COVID-19.

  The $420,000 grant fund is comprised of $98,370 from King County CARES Act Funds and $321,630 from the City of Sammamish’s general fund.

  The Small Business Recovery Grants are meant to support local businesses as they begin to re-open and expand operations. Minimum eligibility criteria included:

  • A maximum of 15 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees
  • Located within Sammamish
  • An active Sammamish Business License
  • Been in operation since June 1, 2019
  • Experienced impacts from COVID-19
  • Businesses cannot be owned or partially owned by a current City of Sammamish employee or Councilmember or an immediate family member of a current City of Sammamish employee or Councilmember.

  
  

  The City Council also discussed a second round of small business grant funding for later this year. A Council Committee is currently working on details for this second small business grant cycle.

  More details on the small business grant recipients can be found here.

• CDC Guidance on Halloween released.

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  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has released guidance on Halloween celebrations. This is a useful guide highlighting different activities and categorizing them into low, moderate, and high risk.

  Please check back for additional guidance from other public health agencies as they are released.

  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#halloween

• Emergency Manager's Report to City Council on COVID-19 (September 15, 2020)

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  Andrew Stevens, CEM - Emergency Manager -Eastside Fire & Rescue

  Good evening Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Manager.

  Thank you again for allowing me another opportunity to provide a brief situational update on COVID-19 and other current hazards facing the City. We are in the middle of Emergency Preparedness Month so tonight I will also touch on the impending flu season, the impact of wildfire smoke on Sammamish, and the concerns of residents on evacuation routes and preparedness for wildfires in light of the historic wildfires across the western states. It’s important that our city’s resiliency continue to strengthen through the challenges we face and I want the community to know we are paying close attention, are working hard for them, and we hear their concerns.

  First, I must start by addressing COVID-19, the pandemic which has taken nearly 200,000 American lives in under seven months. I sadly report that Sammamish has lost another life to COVID. Each life lost is heartbreaking especially for their loved ones. We have also seen 25 new positive cases in the last 14 days. The better news is that the total cases in the city and county appear to be trending downward again. I believe it is because we have taken clear, firm, and measurable action to preserve the wellness of our residents that we have been able to keep our numbers relatively low compared to other cities but, in order for us to maintain the low numbers of the downward trend, we must stay vigilant. The risk of falling prey to compassion fatigue will undoubtedly result in more positive cases and more lives lost.

  Just because we occasionally hit low case numbers does not mean we can relax health and safety protocols as a City government or as community members. We must turn the low trends into stable factors in the data which takes continued commitment to social distancing, wearing PPE, limiting outings and social interaction, and so forth. I urge residents to keep others in mind when deciding to downgrade their personal and family safety measures. Thank you to all complying community members who are making the health and safety or themselves and our community a top priority. Your dedication is quite literally a matter of life and death.

  This brings me to flu season and weather changes which could both impact the community especially as far as COVID-19 is concerned. If you can get a flu shot, it’s time to book your appointments. While influenza and COVID-19 are distinct illnesses with COVID-19 being far deadlier, having more unpredictable symptoms, and sometimes, a very prolonged recovery; they both create systemic vulnerabilities to humans and our community. Ultimately, we want to avoid outbreaks of both in our community, especially of co-infections. And although inclement weather may drive you inside, we continue to encourage the community to follow the social distancing guidelines set forth by public health experts and refrain from indoor socializing, especially in groups.

  Secondly, I’d like to address the smoke surge we’re collectively experiencing throughout most of the state and the west coast of America. These conditions are dangerous. Please heed all recommendations to stay indoors. If you must be outdoors, wearing your masks is helpful in this public health incident as well. Should driving become precarious, use your hazards until you get to a safe spot to pull over. While rain will eventually come and be a reprieve to our forests and wildlife, it will not clean out our air. Atmospheric movement is what is needed to clear our air and that is not expected until later in the week, although the meteorological modeling changes rapidly. Please do not assume the moment you see blue skies that the air is safe. Follow the city and county updates as well as your local news for updates on air quality. If you have heart or pulmonary conditions, please take extra precautions as directed by your physician.

  Thirdly, I have heard the concerns of residents about evacuation routes and disaster preparedness and want you to know I’m listening and responding. In addition to the robust emergency preparedness guide and resources hosted on the City website, the Sammamish City Council adopted the FEMA approved King County Regional 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan and accompanying City of Sammamish Jurisdictional Annex. That detailed plan can be reviewed in the July 21st council agenda. It outlines mitigation actions that the City is undertaking, including all hazards transportation planning which involves an evacuation route study and mapping. The few points of egress from our community could be further hindered based on the type of emergency we’re facing. This is especially concerning for the life and safety of evacuees. Know the nearest egress points in each direction from your home!

  In the interim of having this study completed, which is yet to begin until the next year’s budget is solidified, I will be creating a preliminary Evacuation Map and Evacuation Preparedness Plan for the community. Essentially with such limited routes, it’s imperative our community is truly prepared to evacuate. Providing a checklist to residents to help prepare them is a crucial part of having effective evacuations in disasters. I will be coordinating with my boss at Eastside Fire and Rescue as well as City staff to have this approved and disseminated to the public as soon as possible on social media, in the email newsletter, and in the mailed newsletter, at minimum.

  The dense smoke is also a harsh reminder of the ever-increasing risk of wildfire across the State and even in Western WA. This is one of the reasons why I recently wrote a grant pursuing federal funding to support the development of Community Wildfire Protection Plans across all of Eastside Fire & Rescue’s service areas. The plans will be crucial in developing a strategy for how we manage the growing risk of wildfires in the wildland-urban interface of the region and how we educate our residents and implement mitigating actions that reduce risk and future vulnerability.

  Thank you all for your time and attention to these important health and safety matters. Your support is critical to my department being effective for our community. I’m now available to answer your questions if you have any.

• Emergency Manager's Report to City Council on COVID-19 (September 1, 2020)

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  Andrew Stevens, CEM - Emergency Manager -Eastside Fire & Rescue

  Good evening Mayor, Council members, and City Manager.

  Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the ongoing COVID-19 response.

  A recent situational report released by the State of Washington is showing an overall plateau and potentially slight decline in statewide COVID-19 cases, with the R factor, or the measure used to highlight how fast the virus is spreading, remaining around 1. This statewide plateau is a mixture of counties that are holding stable, such as King County, counties that are seeing increased cases, and a few, such as Yakima, which is now decreasing.

  While the statewide plateau in COVID-19 cases can be seen as a positive, it, unfortunately, means that 10-15 Washingtonians are still dying each day from the virus. If those numbers continue through the remainder of the year, then Washington will experience approximately 1,250-1,875 additional COVID-19 deaths by the end of 2020. With the over 1,900 deaths that have already occurred, this would likely make COVID-19 a top five cause of death in Washington this year.

  Sammamish has unfortunately seen additional COVID-19 fatalities since my last report. In mid-August, two more Sammamish residents died as a result of the COVID-19. These were the first COVID related deaths the City has seen since early May. This, including the uptick in positive cases we experienced over the past month, is a somber reminder that the COVID pandemic is still very much ongoing.

  Lastly, September is recognized as National Preparedness Month. I urge all Sammamish residents to visit the City’s website where they can find a host of emergency preparedness guides and resources. Just as States along the Gulf Coast are now being threatened by hurricanes while at the same time combating COVID, Sammamish is threatened by numerous hazards that could occur without notice and with devastating consequences. All residents should have a plan for what they will do in a disaster, supplies to see them through the recovery, and know how to stay informed before, during, and after an emergency. While not many could have predicted the prior and ongoing challenges associated with COVID-19, I feel that there is plenty that everyone can do to ensure that we as a community strengthen our disaster resiliency.

  Thank you.

• Emergency Manager's Report to City Council on COVID-19 (Aug 11, 2020)

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  Andrew Stevens, CEM - Emergency Manager -Eastside Fire & Rescue

  Good evening Mayor, Council members, and City Manager.

  Thank you again for allowing me with the opportunity to provide a brief situational update on COVID-19

  Three weeks ago, when I provided my last update to Council, COVID-19 numbers across the state, county, and in Sammamish were all on the rise. The number of positive cases across the county was meeting or exceeding previous records set in late March, before the statewide shut-down. Sammamish was also setting records for positive daily case counts during this time, hitting 10 new cases in a single day on July 20^th, where the prior record was 7 cases on March 27^th.

  Since then, we have begun to see numbers stabilize, but they are still not back to where they were during the complete statewide lockdown. From July 27^th to August 10^th there were 32 new positive cases in Sammamish, at a rate of 50.0 per 100,000 residents. Today, Sammamish is registering 196 positive cases, an increase of 5 new cases since yesterday, and roughly 10% of our population has been tested.

  King County had established key indicators of COVID-19 activity, assessing trends in both virus spread, testing capability, and healthcare system readiness to determine overall risk. Currently, the county is not meeting the target goals for ½ of those indicators. Most notably, to meet the goal set for the total number of cases for the last 14 days per 100,000 residents, the county would be under 25 per 100k. King County is currently sitting at 91 and as I mentioned above Sammamish is sitting at 50.

  Given these increases, not just in WA but across the nation, where now over five million people have contracted the disease and over 165,000 people have died, it is extremely important for everyone to do their part in slowing this virus. We are seeing more and more cases of small family gatherings ending in transmission across households. We are seeing more and more cases of young, asymptomatic people infecting older more vulnerable family members, colleagues, or friends. I still see parents turning a blind eye or willfully participating in ignoring playground or park facility closures. What example is that demonstrating? At this point in this pandemic, when over 1,000 US citizens are dying each day, I am not sure what else it will take for the majority of individuals to take this crisis seriously and abide by all the public health recommendations.

  Sammamish is continuing to promote and assist our residents in doing just that. Following the success of last month’s cloth face mask distribution event where roughly 10,500 masks were provided free to residents, we have distributed another 11,000 masks, this time partnering with LWSD, ISD, and Eastside Friends of Seniors. These masks were distributed to Sammamish families through free lunch programs, through school registration packets, and home care packages delivered to our most vulnerable residents. On top of that, the City has rolled out its small business grant program, providing over $250,000 to businesses affected by COVID-19. This application period closes on August 20^th and more information can be found on the City’s website.

  Lastly, I would like to thank all the residents and businesses in Sammamish who are doing their part to stop this outbreak. The majority of people I see when out in town are complying with public health recommendations. They are wearing masks, socially distancing from others, and practicing strong environmental hygiene. I understand the reality of COVID fatigue but continuing to stay the course is so very important to eventually winning this fight.

  Thank you.