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A MOTION requesting that the King County council, in consultation with the executive, identify volunteer opportunities for the general public, King County employees, private businesses and nonprofit organizations to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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WHEREAS, the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") first appeared in people in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and
WHEREAS, public health - Seattle & King County activated the Public Health Departmental Emergency Operations Center on January 21, 2020, in preparation for a significant public health emergency caused by COVID-19, and
WHEREAS, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one of eleven airports in the United States to receive and process travelers from the region where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, and
WHEREAS, the first case of COVID-19 identified in the United States occurred in January in a Snohomish County resident who had traveled to China, and
WHEREAS, confirmed cases of COVID-19 have since spread through community transmission in Snohomish and King counties, and
WHEREAS, as of March 22, 2020, one thousand forty people in Washington state have been diagnosed with and seventy-five people have died from COVID-19, and
WHEREAS, according to Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the number of COVID-19 cases are likely to double every six days, and
WHEREAS, the World Health Organization recognized COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and
WHEREAS, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in Washington State in response to the cases of COVID-19 on February 29, 2020, and
WHEREAS, the King County executive issued a proclamation of emergency on March 1, 2020, in order to allow King County to quickly respond to new or different demands on service in response to the emergency caused by COVID-19, and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Governor issued a “stay-at-home” order on March 23, 2020, for all but essential activities and essential workers, including those responding to the COVID-19 outbreak; and
WHEREAS, members of the public may desire to assist their communities and King County in response to the emergency caused by COVID-19;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
It is the intent of the King County council to support a COVID-19 Action and Response Enlistment strategy, which is also known as a C.A.R.E. strategy, to identify donation and volunteer opportunities for the general public, King County employees, private businesses and nonprofit organizations to assist their communities and King County in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of the strategy, the council shall consult with the executive branch when appropriate. To support the C.A.R.E strategy, the council will identify centralized communication resources for informing the general public, King County employees, private businesses and nonprofits of donation and volunteer opportunities to assist their communities and King County in the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
As this strategy is stood up, the council intends to report out on the donation and volunteer opportunities identified for the general public, King County employees, private businesses and nonprofit organizations to assist in the county's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with a briefing at council no later than twenty-one calendar days after the passage of this this motion. The council expects that a written report be made available to the councilmembers and the public on the donation and volunteer opportunities identified for the general public, King County employees, private businesses and
nonprofit organizations to assist in the county's response to the COVID-19 outbreak no later than twenty-eight calendar days after the passage of this motion.