Coronavirus News

Skagit County Public Health and Mira Vista Care Center have confirmed that there is an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 at the Care Center in Mount Vernon. So far, 21 people have tested positive for COVID-19.

People who put off care as COVID-19 surged are easing back into the medical system. Here’s how to know if it’s safe.

After months of asserting pregnant women were not at high risk for the coronavirus, the CDC recently released a study with sobering findings for expectant mothers. Experts say the data gaps are almost as worrisome as the results.

The U.S. public health system has been starved for decades and lacks the resources necessary to confront the worst health crisis in a century.

As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.

"Unfortunately we’ve seen an uptick in positive cases over the past several weeks that have prevented us from being able to move forward per the Safe Start—Reopening Washington plan."

The Trump administration has doubled down on its claims that coronavirus case counts are up because the U.S. has increased testing. However, a closer look at graphs of testing numbers and positive cases shows that this isn’t the case for many states.

I want to commend all the citizens of this community for flattening the curve in Anacortes, being involved in making sure your family and neighbors are taken care of, and for reaching out to me to have discussions about difficult topics and the future of our community.

State officials are pointing to reopened bars as a cause of local spikes in coronavirus cases. Bars are tailor-made for the spread of the virus, with a cacophony of conversations that require raised voices and alcohol, which can impede judgment.

Governor Inslee on Tuesday announced a new statewide requirement that all Washingtonians and visitors to the State wear facemasks or coverings in indoor public places such as stores, offices and restaurants.

Some experts say the United States is arguably still in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and history tells us that the 1918 influenza pandemic came in at least three waves. 

The plastic tubes supplied for coronavirus testing by Fillakit, a first-time federal contractor with a sketchy owner, don’t even fit the racks used to analyze samples. And they may be contaminated anyway.

We are continuing to see an increasing rate of cases in Skagit County.

It is likely we’ll eventually have a coronavirus vaccine — but perhaps not as quickly as some expect. From development, to clinical trials and distribution, ProPublica reporter Caroline Chen explains the tremendous challenges that lie ahead.

Wisconsin already faced a shortage of caregivers who offer crucial health services and independence to their clients. Then the pandemic struck. In a survey of nearly 500 Wisconsinites with disabilities and older adults, every respondent said the pandemic had disrupted their caregiving service.

Although laws prohibit price gouging on precious resources in times of emergency, states have been forced to compete for a share of the nation’s stockpile of ventilators — used to treat the sickest COVID patients — or pay top dollar on sideline deals. 

ProPublica deputy managing editor Charles Ornstein wanted to know why experts were wrong when they said U.S. hospitals would be overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. 

But some of those options, like special enrollment periods, are time-sensitive.

Skagit County moved to Phase 2 on June 5. As businesses start to reopen and people begin to return to work, please closely follow the new protocols and procedures issued by the Governor.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the nation’s doctors and hospitals to reevaluate how they work. At least three major changes may have a lasting impact.

Health researchers are among the voices calling for police to stop using tear gas and pepper spray on protesters, because these chemical irritants can damage the body in ways that can spread the coronavirus and increase the severity of COVID-19. 

Black lives are being lost to COVID-19 at twice the rate of others. For protesters we talked to, that’s one more reason to be on the street. “If it’s not police beating us up, it’s us dying in a hospital from the pandemic,” one said.

Skagit County on Friday received approval from the state Department of Health to officially move to Phase 2 of the Governor’s Safe Start Reopening Washington Plan. “We are excited to move forward. It is long overdue,” said Skagit County Public Health Director Jennifer Johnson.

I want to address the community understanding that COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on our community for the past few months. We have seen many Counties in our state move to phase 2 and we are eager to join them.

In the middle of a respiratory pandemic, law enforcement agencies have used tear gas in especially dangerous ways. The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surfaces, and can cause long-term lung damage.

The Anacortes Arts Festical has cancelled its 2020 edition, saying the decision wasn't made lightly. "We feel like we have pushed all of the deadlines for planning as far as we can."

Amid questions about the accuracy of the COVID-19 antibody tests flooding the market — and the usefulness of the results they provide — the FDA has belatedly stepped in to try to rein in the chaos.

Last month, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would let employees add, drop or change some of their benefits for the remainder of 2020. The catch: Your employer has to allow the changes. KHN explains how it could work.

The Skagit County Board of Health and the Skagit County Board of Commissioners Friday voted to submit an official application to move forward to Phase 2 under Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan. 

The long-term care industry resisted a federal mandate to plan for disasters including pandemics. About 43% of nursing homes have been caught violating the requirement, including facilities that have now had deadly COVID-19 outbreaks.

As a journalist, she wrote during the winter about the hostility shown toward Asian Americans for wearing masks. In May, she got cursed at for not wearing a mask herself.

I am incredibly proud of how our business owners, health care providers, and the employees of the City have adapted to this new reality.

The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.

Of those who went without seeing a doctor or other medical provider, 11% experienced a worsened medical condition, according to the poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In addition, nearly 40% said stress related to the coronavirus crisis has negatively impacted their mental health.

You never planned on raising kids during a pandemic, and there are no easy decisions. ProPublica scoured the latest research and talked to seven infectious disease and public health experts to help think through the issues facing parents.

Skagit County Board of Health, Unified Command Ask Governor Inslee to reevaluate eligibility requirements and consider Phase 2 variance for Skagit County

The situation continues to be fluid and we are learning as we go, we have been adapting to changing circumstancing and are building more resilient processes and procedures to accomplish the City’s business.

ProPublica has launched a special project watching as many states lift stay-at-home orders and how closely they match federal guidelines for reopening. Check their daily state-by-state report here. 

Most states ordered dental offices to close except for emergency patient care when the coronavirus hit the U.S. But the shutdown drilled deep into dentists’ finances, and they have been eager to reopen as states have relaxed their closures.

Vaccines and antivirals have long been an afterthought but Johnson & Johnson and other firms are widely publicizing how they might stop COVID 19.

Conspiratorial videos and websites about COVID-19 are going viral. Here’s how one of the authors of “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook” says you can fight back. One big takeaway: Focus your efforts on people who can hear evidence and think rationally.

California’s governor and San Francisco’s mayor worked together to act early in confronting the COVID threat. For Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, it was a different story, and 27,000 New Yorkers have died so far.

Thousands of researchers worldwide are looking for a treatment that will go beyond what remdesivir can do for COVID patients.

Now is the time to stay strong. Our lives have been turned upside down, but now - we can slowly start to build our new normal by following the Governor’s Safe Start plan. Video & full text here.

Still, medical experts say, it’s not a black-and-white decision of either go on a ventilator or die.

Skagit County Public Health says that its study on the Skagit Chorale COVID-19 outbreak has been published by the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control. The study emphasizes the high-transmissibility of COVID-19 and explains new findings about the outbreak event.  

The City of Anacortes has decided to cancel a number of public events this summer following the recommendation of the county Public Health Officer.

The economy is in free fall but Wall Street is thriving, and stocks of big private equity firms are soaring dramatically higher. That tells you who investors think is the real beneficiary of the federal government’s massive rescue efforts.

States and the federal government are experimenting with steps that will allow people to start working again and returning to more typical lifestyles. But public health experts offer their thoughts on the related risk-benefit calculations.

You’ve probably read in the news over the past few weeks that Public Health officials are hoping to expand antibody (also called serology) testing, and probably have some questions about what antibody testing could mean for you and Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan.

Skagit County Health Dept. recommends cancelling or postponing large scale events, including fairs, parades, festivals, overnight residential camps, fireworks displays or any other large group gatherings through the summer.

TSA officials stockpiled a huge shipment of N95 masks they knew they didn’t need even after two agency officials asked to donate them.

Nothing in this viral meme is accurate. And there are other places to place blame.

Join Sen. Liz Lovelett, Rep. Debra Lekanoff, Rep. Alex Ramel, Rep. Dave Paul and Rep. Sharon Shewmake for a Virtual Community Conversation on Monday, May 4th at 6pm on Facebook Live.

“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.

Increasing evidence suggests people who smoke are more likely to become severely ill and die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers. Some people are using that as inspiration to quit.

Coronavirus antibody studies and what they allegedly show have triggered fierce debates, further confusing public understanding. ProPublica’s health reporter Caroline Chen is here to offer some clarity around these crucial surveys.

A claim being pushed on social media and by an organization skeptical of vaccines is using a military study to falsely suggest that the flu vaccine increases someone’s risk of contracting COVID-19. The study does not say that, and the Military Health System advises people to get the flu shot.

Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.

Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.

One by one, toward the end of March, residents of Enumclaw Health and Rehabilitation Center outside of Seattle started coming down with symptoms of COVID-19.

Starting Monday, symptomatic individuals – and any healthcare workers or first responders – will be able to get tested for the presence of Coronavirus. That’s the goal of Skagit County’s new drive-through testing site in the east parking lot of Skagit Valley College, near McIntyre Hall.

Older bodies respond to infection in different ways. Seniors may sleep more or stop eating. They may be confused or dizzy. They might simply collapse.

Federal officials have known for nearly a decade which counties are most likely to suffer devastation ― both in loss of lives and jobs ― in a pandemic.

Many Americans order drugs from Canada and other countries because they are cheaper, but U.S. authorities appear to be cracking down on the practice.

The state is recalling about 12,000 COVID-19 test kits sent to local health jurisdictions, tribal nations and state agency partners across the state.

As COVID-19 fears grew, public officials and sports execs contemplated health risks — and debated a PR message — but let 33,000 fans into a Seattle Sounders soccer match, emails show.

In a battle between China and the U.S. over global leadership, American diplomats and aid officials cited U.S. funding of the World Health Organization as key and relied heavily on the agency for help. When Trump cut its funding, he upended all that.

Big data plays a critical role in the success of current public health efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus. Privacy advocates, though, are watching closely.

The pandemic has exposed massive cracks in the foundations of the U.S. public health system. Getting the country back to normal, experts say, will require a major investment in Public Health 101: training a corps of workers who can track people with the virus and prevent them from passing it to others.

Twenty- and 30-somethings were initially told the coronavirus was more likely to strike older people. But then people in younger age groups started getting seriously sick.

Many states report coronavirus cases and COVID-19 hospitalizations differently, and the federal government is way behind on data tracking. Without consistent information, the U.S. won’t be able to properly respond as new coronavirus hot spots emerge.

Public health researchers offered a range of ideas — from high-tech to tried-and-true public health interventions ― that could aid the U.S. response to COVID-19.

News about COVID-19 changes often. We want to make sure you have the most up-to-date information so you can make the best choices for yourself and your family.

Foot traffic in L.A. has fallen off a cliff amid the COVID-19 crisis, driving many street vendors away. But some are still on the streets, peddling their wares out of economic necessity. Many are undocumented immigrants who won’t get any help from the recently approved $2 trillion federal assistance package.

The CDC recommends that Americans wear facial masks when they go to public places, such as the grocery store. But this is only one part of a multipronged effort to stop the virus’s spread.

Skagit County Public Health reported on Monday five more positive cases of COVID-19 to 166 in the county. Meanwhile, Governor Inslee ordered schools to remain closed for the school year. I haven't seen any word on high school graduation ceremonies yet.

Mayor Laurie Gere will brief the public with the most up to date information on this COVID-19 crisis and discuss the impact this has had on the Anacortes community on Wednesday, April 8, at 4pm on cable channel 10.

Josie and George Taylor of Everett, Washington, are two of the first people in the U.S. to recover from novel coronavirus infections after joining a clinical trial for the antiviral drug remdesivir.

Fiscal restraints imposed by Republicans in Congress in the early years of the Obama administration left the U.S. less prepared to respond to the coronavirus pandemic today.

The coronavirus outbreak has forced millions out of work and the federal-state health program for low-income people could face unprecedented strains as many states don’t necessarily have the resources or systems in place to meet the demand.

Skagit County reports another increase of individual testing positive for COVID-19 from 153 on Thursday to 160 on Friday. Number of deaths remains at four. But, the number of those hospitalized increased to 18 at some point in theie disease.

As states scour the world for masks and other protective medical equipment, the federal government has repeatedly invoked a little-known clause in the Defense Production Act to step to the front of the line for sought-after health supplies.

Considering coronavirus outbreaks in Skagit County and King County, ProPublica’s health reporter Caroline Chen explains what the conversation around asymptomatic coronavirus carriers is missing, and what we need to understand if we’re going to beat this nefarious virus together.

Stay home, stay healthy. The only way for us to stop the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home as much as possible. We will be sending regular emails like this to provide information on local response efforts, available resources and how to keep yourself safe during this difficult time.

A new COVID-19 related death was reported Wednesday by Skagit County Public Health, bringing the number of deaths in the county to four. Meanwhile, the total number of people testing positive climbed from 128 reported on Tuesday to 143 today, Wednesday. Now Fourteen people have been hospitalized in the county. Again, the state is not reporting any new cases, saying their vendor is having database problems.

Barbara Dreyfuss died March 1 after contracting COVID-19 at a Kirkland, Wash. nursing home. Her earlier decision to document her final wishes may offer an example for families as the deadly virus spurs interest in end-of-life care.

Yesterday we saw a spike in coronavirus cases in Skagit County. Today, there's a jump in hospitalizations from nine yesterday to 13 today. The case total sits at 128 today with no new deaths reported.

 Families are weighing the challenges of providing home care with the isolation or potential danger of leaving folks in senior housing or long-term care.

Skagit County on Monday confirmed 22 new COVID-19 cases since Sunday in what appears to be the largest day-to-day increase since counting started here.

When nurses at one Washington State hospital complained about having to use expired respirators, they allege that staff were ordered to remove stickers showing the equipment was years out of date.

Hospitals need to clear out patients who no longer need acute care. But nursing homes are alarmed at the prospect of taking patients who may have the coronavirus. “It’s a huge and very difficult issue,” said Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association, whose members were hit early by the coronavirus.

Skagit County's Ham Radio Operators are staying connected, not in a virtual online setting like many people, but on the radio and are ready to serve as backup emergency communications.

As the number of coronavirus cases in Skagit County hits 99, now with three deaths, the Los Angeles Times tells the story our the Skagit Valley Chorale coronavirus cluster that has killed two Chorale members.

One resident and five staff members at Prestige Care and Rehabilitation in Burlington have tested positive for COVID-19. Prestige Care is working diligently to respond to this situation, and we ask the community to offer only respect and support during this difficult time. This will allow the facility to focus its attention on protecting residents and staff.

To weather uncertain times, it’s important to acknowledge and grieve losses — even if they seem small in the scheme of the global pandemic, psychologists and grief experts say.

A doctor-scholar who studied the 1976 mishandling of swine flu says the president is wrongly choosing between saving lives and saving the economy.

Families like one in Clark County, Wash. worry that overwhelmed hospitals won’t be able to provide palliative care for loved ones stricken with COVID-19.

Hundreds of thousands of health care workers go into homes around the country to provide vital services for seniors and disabled people. But with rising concerns about the coronavirus and the particular danger it poses for older adults, those workers could be endangering their patients and themselves.

Briefly: What does Governor Inslee’s order mean for me?

• You must stay home unless you are pursuing an essential activity. If you must travel – for food, medical care, essential work, or to care for a family member– stay six feet away from others.
• You cannot gather socially with anyone other than your immediate household members, even outdoors.
• Effective the evening of March 25th, all non-essential businesses must temporarily close.

This is not an easy request. We are all struggling with what that means for ourselves and our families. The more we are collectively able to create physical distance between ourselves and others, the more successful we will be in stopping the rapid spread of COVID-19.
More Details on the Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order
Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee announced the two-week Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The Skagit County Health Officer urges your immediate cooperation with this statewide order.
The Governor’s order requires every Washingtonian to stay home unless they are doing an essential activity, such as:

• Shopping for groceries or going to a medical appointment.
• Getting takeout food. (Food deliveries also are permitted).
• Going to work at an essential business.
• Going outside for walks and exercise by yourself or with members of your immediate household.
• Caring for an elderly or sick family member or friend.

When you leave home, you must stay six-feet apart from others.
Staying at home means staying at home. Now is not the time to be traveling outside your community. This does not apply to those whose homes or residences are unsafe.
Effective immediately, all gatherings for social, recreational or spiritual purposes are banned. This includes religious services, sleepovers, dinner parties, playing sports with friends, weddings and funerals. Under the order, you cannot gather socially with anyone other than your immediate household members, even outdoors.
Beginning Wednesday evening, March 25, all non-essential businesses in Washington State will close. All essential businesses must establish and implement social distancing and sanitation measures.
Agriculture, grocery stores, and restaurants providing takeout and delivery, will remain open. Buy only what you need as grocery stores will be stocked continuously. It is good practice to have a two-week supply on hand.
Although these measures cause significant economic, spiritual, and emotional hardships, we must do our part to protect the health of our family, friends, and neighbors.
These changes require us to place physical distance between ourselves and others, but social connectivity - through phone calls, letters, and video chat - are more important than ever. To keep our community healthy, reach out to friends, loved ones, and neighbors to see how they are doing and how we can support each other in this difficult time.
If you need help in managing stress or anxiety, please call the Volunteers of America crisis line at 1-800-584-3578 or visit www.imhurting.org.