For healthcare and service providers

• The Communicable Disease Epidemiology & Immunization Section emails timely Health Advisories to those who subscribe to our Info-X Listserv. The listserv is a free service for King County health care providers. To be added to the list, visit this page.
  
  
• 2020 health care advisories and news

• Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Healthcare Settings, CDC
  Actions to consider as soon as you have a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19.
  
  
• Guidance for solid waste and biomedical waste handling
  Guidance for health care facilities and solid waste handlers to differentiate waste streams that come into contact with COVID-19 patients in order to clearly identify which wastes are appropriate for the municipal waste streams and which wastes are identified as biomedical waste as defined in local, state, and federal regulations.

• Interim COVID-19 PPE and face covering guidance for behavioral health providers and clients
  This document provides personal protective equipment (PPE) and cloth face covering guidance specific for behavioral health clinicians and clients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The following recommendations are based on CDC guidance for healthcare settings (updated 4/13/20) and include information on the Local Health Officer Directive on face coverings.
  
  
• Guidance for PPE conservation and alternatives when PPE is unavailable
  During times of severe personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, individual measures/alternatives combined with administrative and engineering controls should be considered to support maintenance of the healthcare system response to COVID-19.
  
  This guidance has been extracted from CDC's guidance on optimizing PPE supply and should not be used independently without reviewing the complete CDC guidance for context and recommendations.
  
  
• Face protection for housing and shelter staff working in close contact with people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection

There are currently no restrictions on who can be tested for COVID-19 and commercial testing is becoming more available. Healthcare providers should test all patients with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 regardless of their age or health status and individuals who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

• COVID-19 Testing Information for Healthcare Providers, Washington State Dept. of Health
• Evaluating and Testing Persons for Coronavirus Disease 2019, CDC

Long-term care facilities are at high risk for severe COVID-19 outbreaks due to their congregate nature and vulnerable population (e.g., older adults with multiple co-morbidities).

• Public Health — Seattle & King County's Response
  Learn more about how we are responding to outbreaks in LTFC's through improved infection control, facilitating testing, and cohorting.
  
  
• Recommendations for long-term care facilities
  These resources are intended to help long-term care facilities take the appropriate steps to prepare for and respond to cases of COVID-19 in their facility, and thereby protect the health of residents and staff.

• Healthcare for the Homeless Network (HCHN) provides health care services to people experiencing homelessness in King County.
  Learn more about HCHN’s role in the COVID-19 response including guidance documents and resources for homeless service providers.
  
  
• Sign up for COVID Homelessness Response email alerts and receive up-to-date information related to King County's COVID-19 response for people experiencing homelessness.

• Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners
  The Washington State Department of Health is enrolling and activating emergency volunteer health practitioners for the COVID-19 response.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

• COVID-19 Outbreak Among Three Affiliated Homeless Service Sites — King County, Washington, 2020
  On April 1, 2020, a COVID-19 outbreak was detected at three affiliated homeless shelters. Testing for SARS-CoV-2 immediately offered to all residents and staff members identified additional unrecognized COVID-19 cases. Enhanced surveillance and repeat testing identified and confirmed COVID-19 in 43 persons at these sites.
  
  
• Asymptomatic and Presymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections in Residents of a Long-Term Care Skilled Nursing Facility — King County, Washington, March 2020
  Symptom-based screening of SNF residents might fail to identify all SARS-CoV-2 infections. Asymptomatic and presymptomatic SNF residents might contribute to SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Once a facility has confirmed a COVID-19 case, all residents should be cared for using CDC-recommended personal protective equipment (PPE), with considerations for extended use or reuse of PPE as needed.
  
  
• COVID-19 in a Long-Term Care Facility — King County, Washington, February 27–March 9, 2020
  Long-term care facilities should take proactive steps to protect the health of residents and preserve the health care workforce by identifying and excluding potentially infected staff members, restricting visitation except in compassionate care situations, ensuring early recognition of potentially infected patients, and implementing appropriate infection control measures.

PubMed

See list of abstracts cowritten by Public Health - Seattle & King County staff.