City Of Kenmore issued the following announcement on April 2
The global pandemic that is unfolding before us presents a unique problem unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in our region continues to climb, as well as the deaths attributed to this disease. We are deeply concerned for those who are suffering and have lost loved ones, and our love and support are extended to them during this tragic time.
Businesses and Workers
Our local businesses and workers are also on our minds as many of them have been forced close or dramatically reduce their operations. This pandemic is devasting to our business community, and many businesses may not be able to recover from this huge blow.
Workers are losing their jobs and will struggle to pay rent and other bills, causing great anxiety and even despair.
Hope for the Future
With this pandemic comes uncertainty. Not only are we experiencing a massive disruption that will likely change how we live for a very long time, but it’s hard to predict what will happen next or how extensive this pandemic will be.
That said, I believe that this pandemic is a unique challenge that will pass in due time. Here at the City of Kenmore, our future remains very bright, especially if we each do our part and continue to work together, as we always have done, to get through this emergency.
You Can Slow the Spread
By following the CDC recommendations and the governor's directives, and by doing what we can to help one another, as a community we’re going to get through this just fine. But in the meantime, it’s going to take a lot of sacrifice, inconvenience, and just plain old hunkering down to do our part to help the Kenmore community and the region as a whole.
To be clear—we need to slow the spread of this virus as much as possible so that we can smooth out the spike and reduce the pressure on our health care system. Doing so will save lives.
Special care and consideration need to be given to the at-risk populations affected by this virus, including the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. If you are in one of the at-risk categories, please stay home and away from other people, at least for now.
For those of you who are younger or believe your reaction to COVID-19 would be mild, please know that you too have a key role in saving lives and slowing the spread of this virus. As Governor Inslee said in a recent announcement:
“For the younger and healthy adults, please understand your actions have consequences beyond your personal health. Although your personal risk may be relatively low, if you don’t stay away from others, more people in our community will be infected. This may result in the overload of the healthcare system making it hard for friends, family members and others who are vulnerable for serious illness getting the care they need when they need it.”
Please follow the governor’s orders to “hunker down” for the next two weeks. It seems ironic, but you can be a hero simply by staying home.
Connect with Each Other—More than Ever
At the same time, it’s more important that ever for us to reach out and connect with each other. How do we that if we can’t be around each other? There are many ways! Pick up the phone and call someone who might be lonely. Send a text or a note on social media. Bring groceries to the doorstep of someone in an at-risk category. The list goes on. Compassion and caring are going to go a long way toward getting us through this pandemic.
Conclusion
I am fortunate to have great colleagues on the Kenmore City Council who ratified the city manager’s emergency proclamations and are providing our organization the resources to continue providing essential city services, assisting our most vulnerable populations, doing our part to help slow the spread, and keeping our city employees safe. Speaking of city employees, we are blessed with a great staff who are staying on top of this issue and are continuing to provide excellent service to our community. In addition, I want to thank our grocery, retail, and delivery workers, who continue to show up and provide essential services when we need them most.
And let’s not forget our emergency first responders and medical workers. They are true heroes as they are called upon to work long hours and extra shifts right on the front lines, close to the infection.
To all of our Kenmore community—we are grateful to you for your understanding and for cooperating during these unprecedented times. A resident recently sent me the photo above, taken in a Kenmore neighborhood just yesterday. While I am not advocating that people write messages on city streets, this message on the photo says it all —we’re in this together.
I remain optimistic for the future. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves, your neighbors, and your loved ones.
Original source can be found here.
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