Snohomish County Executive: It’s a ‘perilous situation’ as schools reopen

Snohomish County’s political leader says out loud what many are thinking as schools across the state prepare to reopen.

No Washington schools would reopen to all students under late-2020 threshold

“I would just caution people that just because they’re reopening doesn’t mean everything is going to go smoothly,” Executive Dave Somers said this week. “We’re just going to have to support our teachers and school districts as they do that and make the best decisions we can.”

Somers warned families that the situation is fluid as school resumes, and says people need to plan for last-minute changes to the rules for schools and all in-person activities.

“It’s a bit of a perilous situation we’re in right now but we’re just trying to support each other,” he said.

The county executive noted that the health department and local school districts are working well together as they analyze best practices based on current COVID conditions.

Aside from the current rise in cases largely driven by the delta variant, like many places, Snohomish County’s COVID-19 cases spiked with the return of cold weather last fall.

“The hospitalization rate is real, the case rate is real, the dangers of COVID are real,” Somers said.

“Stay tuned — it’s going to be interesting as we open up,” he added.

8,000 free backpacks stuffed with school supplies available Tuesday

According to Shawn Frederick with the Snohomish Health District, local hospitals continue to experience a surge in COVID cases and staff shortages.

Just over 1,700 cases were reported in the county last week. Over the last two weeks, the case rate for the county is 394 per 100,000 population.

Frederick also says there are still 209,000 residents that are eligible to receive the vaccine but have not yet been vaccinated.