Combating unseen foe

CHENEY – It was just a matter of time.

Spokane County and the rest of Eastern Washington found itself finally caught up in the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 disease pandemic with a series of rapidly occurring events last week. Gov. Jay Inslee's declaration closing all K-12 public and private schools along with the restricting of public gatherings of no more than 250 people on Friday, March 13, was quickly followed by the announcement of the region's first three COVID-19 cases less than 24 hours later.

That was followed by the disclosure Sunday, March 15, that one of those cases was a Medical Lake School District staff member, with that topped Monday, March 16, by additional orders from Inslee to close all bars and restaurants - unless takeout was provided - along with event and athletic activity centers and additional restricting of gatherings to not more than 50 people.

Monday night, Northern Quest Resort & Casino officials in announcing their two-week closure stated a guest testing positive for COVID-19 had visited on March 9, and Fairchild Air Force Base followed that by announcing one of their airmen had tested positive for the disease.

But before all of this really began, city of Cheney officials had already begun initiating steps to deal with the disease. The ink was barely dry on Inslee's Friday orders when Mayor Chris Grover signed an emergency declaration, which the City Council must adopt at its next meeting to make official.

"The reason we did this ahead of time is we are very concerned about the businesses in Cheney," City Administrator Mark Schuller said. Schuller added the declaration opens up Small Business Administration financial relief options, with the city eligible for federal aid covering 75 percent of any impacts and the state providing up to an extra 12.5 percent - something he said they hadn't done yet.

Before adjourning the 60-day legislative session March 12, both state houses passed a bill providing $200 million in COVID-19 assistance, with $25 million for a new unemployment account to help businesses and employees disrupted by the pandemic. Inslee signed this bill and four others on Tuesday, March 17.

A White House and Senate federal proposal would provide $850 billion in recovery funding, with a House package outlining $750 billion in aid.

Earlier this week, Cheney officials worked up measures the city will take to safeguard city employees and customers. The main focus is restricting contact between the two as much as possible - referred to as social distancing.

"One of our top priorities is the safety of our employees and keeping services rolling," Grover said.

All city buildings are closed with the exception of City Hall, which is limited to the Finance Department where customers stopping by in person will be stopped at the department's door and helped in the lobby. The city is encouraging residents to conduct their regular business online or by phone, and to help out, will temporarily pay the fee normally charged by the credit card company to make payments.

Customers can also drop off payments through the secure drop box on 2nd Street.

The city will send out utility bill late notices as usual, but won't charge a late fee in March. The city will also not disconnect services for non-payment in March.

The Fire Department will limit lobby access until further notice, and if individuals show up needing medical treatment, department personnel will provide this outside. Schuller said they are trying to acquire additional personal protective equipment (PPE), including a filter for firefighters' PPE masks designed to guard against communicable diseases.

The Police Department's lobby is also closed, with public business being conducted by coming to the west side (3rd Street) door and using the speaker box, waiting until an officer meets with them. With the exception of arrestees and individuals sent by Cheney Municipal Court, all fingerprinting will be done by the county.

All building permits can be found online and may be dropped off in a box outside the Utility Building - which is closed - or emailed or faxed. Compost sales are postponed until the end of April, and the Recycling Center is closed until further notice. Schuller said they are also exploring options for remote coverage of City Council meetings, with the next scheduled for March 24.

"The common theme: We all need to work together in unison if we're going to stop this thing," Schuller said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].