COVID-19

Resources

• Fishline – Market and Client Service Changes Effective March 16, 2020
• Gateway Fellowship in Poulsbo is opening its doors, on Monday, to the homeless and hungry in the North Kitsap area. Day shelter and community kitchen will be open 7 days a week from 11am to 3pm. Call the City’s volunteer HELP line for more information 360-517-5037. Meals served at 11:30 a.m. daily.
• Puget Sound Energy
  • PSE will not be disconnecting customers during this time.
  • PSE received approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for a waiver that allows PSE to waive late fees.
• Central Market – Alerts
  • Store hours have temporarily changed to 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • They are also hiring temporary workers. Click here for more info.
  • Starting March 23, they will be reserving 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for senior and at-risk customers.
  • Staff will bag all groceries in unused plastic bags only. No reusable bags.
• Costco
  • Beginning Monday, March 30, U.S. Costco locations will temporarily implement new weekday closing hours.
  • Special Operating Hours for Members 60 and over – On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Costco warehouses will open from 8 to 9 a.m. for members ages 60 and older, and for those with physical impairments. During this early hour, the pharmacy will be open, but the Costco Food Court will not.
  • Effective Friday, April 3, Costco will allow no more than two people to enter the warehouse with each membership card. This temporary change is for your safety and the safety of our employees and other members, and to further assist with our social distancing efforts.
• Safeway
  • Safeway has set special hours to allow seniors and people who have serious chronic medical conditions to do their shopping. The store has reserved 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During this time, people are asked to avoid shopping at the store so that seniors, those who are pregnant or have compromised immune systems can shop.
• Walmart – Effective April 4, 2020, changes to shopping process at Walmart stores.
• “Kroger limiting the number of shoppers in stores to encourage social distancing” – King5News 04/07/2020
• Report price gouging – report price gouging in three easy steps: “See It, Snap It, Send It.” If you see price gouging, snap a photo or take a screenshot, and then include the image with the complaint at the Attorney General’s website.

Community Updates

North Kitsap School District

• Grab & Go Breakfast and Lunch for all Students
• Childcare
• Remote Learning Resources

Kitsap Regional Library

• The Poulsbo Library was already closed for a refresh project, but all other libraries are closed until April 20. Click here for more details.

Washington State Ferries

• Washington State Ferries is temporarily reducing service on the Seattle/Bainbridge route beginning on Sunday, March 29 due to significant declines in ridership. The reductions are tentatively scheduled to last through April 25.The following. Get more information about WSF service adjustments here.
• All galleys on Washington State Ferries vessels will be closed starting Tuesday, March 17.
• Washington State Ferries will extend its current winter sailing schedule through the end of April due to declines in ridership from COVID-19. The spring sailing schedule will now tentatively begin on April 26 rather than March 29. Customers should continue following the winter schedule. Read more here.

Kitsap Transit has stopped collecting fares on all of its services. Starting on Wednesday, April 1, Kitsap Transit is reducing Routed bus services temporarily by more than 30 percent. Click here to learn more details.

Washington Department of Health operates a coronavirus hotline, with multiple language assistance, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 1-800-525-0127.

• For interpretative services, press # when they answer and say your language. For questions about your own health, COVID-19 testing, or testing results, please contact your health care provider.
• Nuestra línea directa tiene acceso a servicios de interpretación telefónica en su idioma. Llame al 1-800-525-0127 y pulse #, cuando respondan, diga su idioma.
• Spanish: Nuevo coronavirus, BienestarWA, Chinese 中文, Russian: Pусский, Vietnamese: Vi-rút Corona Mới, Korean: 한국어,  more translations…

Kitsap Public Health Update As of April 8, 2020, Kitsap Public Health reports 120 positive COVID-19 cases and one death in Kitsap County. There have been 1840 negative test results. Click here for the latest COVID-19 test results and health information from Kitsap Public Health.

Kitsap County launches its first drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 – The initial priority is testing for health care workers and first responders who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Read the press release for complete details.

Local Health Officer Directives for Employers, Employees, and the Public: Dr. Susan Turner, Kitsap County Health Officer, released this letter to the public on March 25, 2020, regarding COVID-19 in Kitsap County.

Health Information

• Kitsap Public Health District
• Public Health – Seattle & King County
• Washington State Coronavirus Response (COVID-19)

The Washington State Insurance Commissioner has instructed health plans to allow for one-time early refill for most prescriptions. You should check with your health plan if you have questions about whether or not your prescription is included. Information here.

Business Resources

• Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant program – A limited number of grants (up to $10,000) are available to small businesses with up to 10 employees.To apply please visit: http://startup.choosewashingtonstate.com/links/crisis/covid-19-resources/. For more information, check out the Small Business Administration website. Governor Inslee also recommended checking out the Office of Civil Legal Aid for help with foreclosures and evictions.
• Kitsap Economic Development Alliance – Questions about your business? Click here to join KEDA’s Weekly Webinars, and access their COVID-19 page for the latest updates,information, reliable local, regional, state & national resources for businesses.
• Is your business essential? Do you need to know if your business is essential or non-essential? Please send use this web form for guidance.

Unemployment Resources

The best way to stay up to date on information about, updates to, and instructions on how to access Unemployment Insurance related to the COVID-19 outbreak is by subscribing to ESD’s COVID-19 action alerts.

You can also help your application process by doing these four things:

1. Start with the website first before calling. The website is being updating the information regularly on their website and making it much easier to understand.
2. Apply online if you can and read the information on the website before you apply. It will help applicants from getting stuck.
3. Sign up for ESD’s COVID-19 action alerts for the most up-to-date information and changes.
4. Apply for a job with ESD! Here’s a flyer with more information. They have amazing telework opportunities available on their customer service teams and, as you can tell from the volume, they need the help. These jobs can be done from anywhere in the state!

Key resources

• COVID-19 Page and FAQ – ESD has accumulated the top questions from businesses and claimants. This is an evolving treasure trove of answers and it is being updated daily. Please email  esdconstituentservices@esd.wa.gov if you have a question not yet listed.
• Checklist for Applying for Unemployment Insurance – To help smooth your application process, please use the UI Checklist first. 
• SharedWork – This is a powerful tool for your businesses to reduce their staff’s hours without having to lay them off. They can reduce the staff hours 10-50% and have Unemployment Insurance provide partial wage replacement for those reduced hours. New emergency rules are being announced for the program to include overtime exempt employees. These rules also allow new businesses as well as those who have outstanding debt to participate. Additionally, with the new Federal legislation, 100% of SharedWork costs will be covered by the Federal Government, therefore not affecting businesses’ experience rates. More information about SharedWork, including an online application, can be found here.

Recent changes to Unemployment Insurance – Reflecting ESD’s goal to make UI available for as many people as possible, the department, in consultation with the Governor, has made the following changes to their traditional program:

• Allowed more workers to access standby status for longer periods – standby allows an employer to temporarily lay off some or all of their workforce. They’ve expanded it to include part-time or less than full-time workers and extended it from 4 to 12 weeks.
• Made job search requirements optional – while many employers are hiring, they recognize this situation makes it difficult for some to conduct a thorough job search.
• Lowered the tax impact to businesses who utilize their programs.
• Waived the traditional waiting week – getting more money into people’s pockets faster. 
• Relaxed penalties and fees for employers and workers who miss key deadlines due to the COVID crisis. 

Phone and claims center volumes – As you can imagine, this many workers accessing the Unemployment Insurance system is creating congestion in the claims centers. Much of the process is automated through their computer system. This allows many people to access benefits without ever having to speak with staff. However, there are a number of issues that may arise which require a claimant to call the claims center and speak with an agent. The best thing people can do is read through their checklists and materials, found at esd.wa.gov/unemployment, and be as prepared as possible before applying online. Mistakes in an application are a major driver for requiring individuals to call in.

Federal Stimulus

ESD is evaluating the federal legislation, and it appears to be a positive and important step toward meeting this agency’s priorities and – most importantly – the needs of Washingtonians. It will take about 3 weeks to get the Unemployment Assistance portion of the legislation up and running to serve the enormous number of people who will need it. One thing that people can do to stay up-to-date is sign up for ESD’s COVID-19 action alerts. They will use this channel, as well as their social media channels @ESDWAWorks, to provide regular updates as this situation quickly evolves.

ESD is working on a full analysis of the benefits that both Federal Legislative packages affords to businesses and workers. What is clear from the most recent Federal Legislative package is that it will allow for coverage of more people and give them more money for longer periods of time. Some highlights related to Unemployment Assistance:

• It would extend unemployment assistance to those who are not currently eligible for Unemployment Insurance and are impacted by COVID-19 (ie. self-employed and those who’ve worked fewer than 680 hours in the past 12 months)
• It will increase the weekly benefit amount for everyone on unemployment assistance by $600/week through end of July
• It extends benefits for an additional 13 weeks

And then, separately, the U.S. Treasury will be providing $1200/person for those who make $75K or less or $2400/married couple who file jointly for wages of $150k or less – plus $500/child under 17. ESD knows there are many questions and they expect to be able to answer people’s questions soon about expanded eligibility and benefits. 

City Response

The City activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on March 16 to manage and prioritize resource requests across the community, and to coordinate additional communication and outreach. The City is focused on three main goals: Continuance of City services, support public health guidance, and support the community.

Other City Response

• Emergency Proclamation No. 02-2020 as related to the Novel Coronavirus known as COVID-19 – Issued March 18, 2020
• Resolution No. 2020-07, Regarding Emergency Proclamation Nos. 01-2020 and 02-2020 related to the Novel Coronavirus
• Emergency Administrative Order 2020-1 for the Poulsbo Municipal Court
• Emergency Administrative Order 2020-2 for the Poulsbo Municipal Court
• Proclamation of a Local Emergency No. 01-2020, Novel Coronavirus – On Friday, March 13, 2020, the City issued a proclamation of emergency, which will allow the City to use all resources necessary to prepare for and respond to outbreak, to adjust City policies and operations if needed, and to access state or federal funds and other resources related to emergency response.

Governor Orders

• Extended Governor’s Orders – Gov. Jay Inslee has extended the ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order until May 4. He is requesting all Washington residents stay home to reduce physical interaction to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community. To learn what is considered an essential service, read the statewide order here. The governor’s office has provided guidance for businesses that want to request inclusion and individuals who want to report suspected violations of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order.
• ’Stay Home, Stay Healthy Order’ – On the evening of Monday, March 23, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order requesting all Washington residents to stay at home to reduce physical interactions as much as possible to stop the spread of COVID-19. The order is effective immediately and any non-essential businesses still operating must close in 48 hours. The order will remain in place for at least two weeks. Read the statewide order here.
• On Wednesday, March 18, the Governor announced relief for businesses, workers, renters, and more in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Learn more here.
• On Monday, March 16, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a statewide emergency proclamation to temporarily shut down restaurants, bars and entertainment and recreational facilities to expand protections against COVID-19. Read here.
• Gov. Jay Inslee signed several executive orders to expand statewide closures of schools, limit large gatherings and expand protocols for adult family homes. Read here.
• For state resources related to COVID-19, visit the governor’s coronavirus page.

Stay Informed:

• Health District COVID-19 updates by text or email: https://kitsappublichealth.org/CommunityHealth/CoronaVirus.php
• Kitsap County alerts: Sign up to get COVID-19 updates from Kitsap County by email or text.
• City of Poulsbo Facebook Updates – Like our Page
• Updates from Governor Inslee: https://www.governor.wa.gov/