Meeting is SCHEDULED!

We are pleased to announce that after working through some challenges and technical difficulties, we are finally set up to host our Fire Commissioner meetings via an ONLINE platform.

Please join us this Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 6pm for a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners.

This meeting will be held via ZOOM.

You do not need to have internet access to join us! You can call in from a phone or join via your computer audio. For access instructions, please contact District Secretary, Christine Johnson at cjohnson@mcfd16.com or (360) 426-7343 before 4:00 PM on April 21, 2020.

Our commissioner meetings are posted on our website and can be found in two locations: at the bottom of the home page, and on the Commissioners page https://www.westmasonfire.org/fire-commissioners. If you register for the meetings through the events posted on our website, you will receive email updates if there are any schedule changes or cancellations, as well as a reminder email the day prior to the meeting.

As always, we value your feedback and interest in your fire district. Please feel free to reach out to us with comments, concerns, ideas, and of course compliments when you have them!

Thank you again for your patience as we are adjusting to the social distancing requirements.

Stay home, limit travel, save lives!

Stay Home, Limit Travel, Save Lives: COVID-19 Update - March 30, 2020

Mason County All Hazards News is a great resource for local information. Here is their update on COVID-19 for today, March 30, 2020:

Stay Home, Limit Travel, Save Lives.

From the Department of Health: Caring for Loved Ones

The Washington State Department of Health provided the following information today regarding COVID-19 and caring for your loved ones.

*COVID-19 Update, March 27, 2020*

Good evening! The state Department of Health wants to keep you as informed as

possible about continuing developments surrounding COVID-19, as well as to provide

guidance and resources you can share with employees, clients, or customers.

*Caring for loved ones*

Many of us are worried about or trying to take care of loved ones who are at higher

risk for getting very sick from COVID-19. Today we released guidance for taking care

of someone who is at high risk or is already sick with respiratory illness. If you

are caring for someone who is well now, but at higher risk of getting very sick from

COVID-19, there are some steps you can take now.

1. Contact their healthcare provider to ask about getting extra necessary medications to have on hand in case you and your loved one need to stay home for a prolonged period of time. If you cannot get extra medications, consider using mail-order for medications. Ensure you have enough medical supplies (oxygen, incontinence, dialysis, wound care) and create a back-up plan for getting more.

2. Make sure your loved one has non-perishable food items on hand.

3. Determine who can care for your loved one if you become sick. Stay in touch with others by phone or email. You may need to ask for help from friends, family, neighbors, community health workers, etc. Create an emergency contact list.

We have also included in this guidance practical strategies to reduce your risk of

getting sick while caring for someone even if you don't have access to standard

personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, gown). These strategies are not as good

as using the standard equipment, but they may help to reduce your risk of getting

sick, and are better than nothing. This guidance is available on the WA Department

of Health website

https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/NovelCoronavirusOutbreak2020/HealthEducation in 26 languages (under Information for families caregiving for loved ones).

*Numbers*

We've had so many tests reported lately, it slowed down our reporting!

Keep checking our website for updates. Our most recent numbers show that 52,738

people in Washington have been tested for COVID-19. Of those, 3,723 people or about

7% have tested positive for COVID-19, and 175 have died of the disease.

*Practice compassion.*

Check in on someone you know who is balancing care of an

inter-generational household. How could you help?

Stay home and stay healthy!

*Department of Health call center:* 1-800-525-0127,6 a.m. to 10 p.m, seven days a week