CORONAVIRUS: Sunday 10/4 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

On the President’s third night of hospital treatment for COVID-19, here are tonight’s local toplines:

KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: First, the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:

*23,023 people have tested positive, up 82 from yesterday’s total

*764 people have died, unchanged since Friday

*2,397 people have been hospitalized, up 2 from yesterday’s total

*451,906 people have been tested, up 2,736 from yesterday’s total

One week ago, the King County totals were 22,118/758/2,355/431,862.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 35 million cases and 1,036,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.

PERSONAL SERVICES REMINDER: A local provider wants to be sure clients are aware of the update last month that set the rules for allowing services such as facials and beard trimming that require removal of the client’s face covering – see the state guidance here.

CROP WALK GETS PERSONAL: The pandemic has transformed another major fall event – the CROP Hunger Walk, which otherwise would have happened in West Seattle today, is instead happening on a route of your choosing sometime in the next week, as explained here.

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

CAM October 4, 2020 (9:51 pm)

I may have missed it but I can’t find the specific regulations being referenced in that document about personal services that involve removing a mask. Are salons allowed to offer services to people that involve removing masks?

WSB October 4, 2020 (10:20 pm)

Yes, the document IS the governor’s guidance, aka rules, protocol, etc. Right there toward the top:

Summary of September 18, 2020 changes.

For any service that necessitates removal of customer’s face covering (i.e. facial or beard trimming), the following apply:
• The service provider must wear a NIOSH approved N95 face covering. If N95s are in short supply and cannot be obtained readily, an FDA approved surgical mask and face shield combination is an acceptable substitute. However, the employer would have to demonstrate they have standing N95 orders that cannot be filled.
• Minimize the amount of time the customer’s face covering is removed.
• Encourage the customer to refrain from speaking while face covering is removed.
- CAM October 5, 2020 (12:26 am)
  
  Thanks! My phone told me I had already downloaded the document and the version I had didn’t include that update. Turns out they kept the same document title for the pdf which means that my phone didn’t try to update to the new version unless I forced it to. As to the guidance, that’s disappointing for everyone else in there that won’t have better PPE. Some customers spend multiple hours in salons and have felt safe doing so because everyone has been masked and very careful. This makes me more hesitant to go get my hair done which is really frustrating.
  - North Delridge October 5, 2020 (12:47 am)
    
    I had been wary too but I recently went into Rudy’s and thought they handled everything well. Questionnaire asking about symptoms etc. and a temp check were there on arrival. When doing the cut, to get around my ears the stylist had me remove the band around my ear but hold the mask over my face while he got in around there. There were maybe 5 customers and the same number of stylists plus the receptionist so not bad in terms of spacing. I declined the offer of hair wash just to save everyone time.

Calires October 5, 2020 (1:15 am)

I’ve gotten two facials since the quarantine and removed my mask. My esthetician was wearing a N95 plus a shield. I’ve had other cosmetology services that didn’t require removal of my mask, and they also have been over-the-top careful. I feel much safer in these environments than at the grocery store or other retail establishments.

JJ October 5, 2020 (1:06 pm)

The guidance seems like it’s threading the needle. I feel for personal care workers who need the income, but also need workplace health protections, working up close with multiple customers. I hope this goes well. Calires, I’m glad to hear your aesthetician had access to a N95 and shield.

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