UPDATES FROM KING COUNTY
ROUND 3 OF WORKING WASHINGTON GRANTS OPENS THIS WEEK
Gov. Jay Inslee has announced an additional $70 million for business grants. $50 million of this is for Round 3 of the Working Washington Small Business grant program. The rest will fund qualified businesses that applied in earlier rounds of our resiliency grant program.
CLICK HERE for information and a link to apply.
KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE LAUNCHES #KEEPITLOCAL
While COVID-19 is spreading, we need people to be mindful about socializing and being out and about, but there are still many ways to support local businesses and organizations. You can join our campaign to #keepitlocal by sharing posts and hashtags on social media that feature your business, or businesses and organizations that you support.
CLICK HERE for toolkit and graphics.
STATE ANNOUNCES SMARTPHONE-BASED EXPOSURE NOTIFICATIONS
The Washington State Department of Health has made a new tool available to alert smartphone users if they may have been exposed to COVID-19. The tool, called Washington Exposure Notifications, or WA Notify, is completely private -- it doesn't track or share who you are or where you go. Learn more at WAnotify.org.
PUBLIC HEALTH-SEATTLE & KING COUNTY RELEASES COVID-19 EXPOSURE REPORT
Many communities of color in King County, as well as communities in south King County, have had higher rates of COVID-19 since last spring. A new report dives into differences in outbreaks and exposure by race and geography.
The report on where people may have been infected with the novel coronavirus finds that King County's most commonly reported sources of potential exposure in recent weeks have been in households and in community or social gatherings, including get-togethers with family and friends, house or dinner parties, larger celebrations such as weddings, activities at places of worship, and visits to restaurants and other businesses. This is different from early in the pandemic when most cases were concentrated in long-term care facilities.
CLICK HERE to access the report on the King County website.
RESOURCES FOR WORKERS DURING COVID-19
The economic disruption unleashed by COVID-19 has posed great challenges for workers in our region. Many have been laid off, or the businesses they worked for haven't survived the pandemic. Those who still have many jobs may worry about whether their employers are taking the necessary steps to keep them safe. Others may be experiencing on-the-job harassment due to their ethnicity and mistaken beliefs that a single country is to blame for the pandemic.
There are resources to help workers during these difficult times, and laws to protect your rights in the workplace. CLICK HERE to access the recently updated worker resource page with new FAQs and worker safety graphics available in multiple languages.
