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A MOTION affirming the King County executive's proclamation of emergency in response to the COVID-19 cases in King County.

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                     WHEREAS, the novel coronavirus first appeared in people in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and

                     WHEREAS, public health - Seattle & King County activated the Public Health Departmental Emergency Operations Center on January 21, 2020, for a significant health emergency caused by novel coronavirus, and

                     WHEREAS, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one of the eleven airports in the United States to receive and process travelers from the region where the COVID-19 outbreak originated, and

                     WHEREAS, the first case of COVID-19 identified in the United States occurred in January in a Snohomish County resident who had traveled to China, and cases have since been spread through community transmission in Snohomish and King counties, and

                     WHEREAS, as of March 2, 2020, eighteen people in Washington state have been diagnosed with and six people have died from COVID-19, and

                     WHEREAS, according to Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, new COVID-19 cases are likely to double every six days, and

                     WHEREAS, the emergency may become a pandemic, and

                     WHEREAS, Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in response to the new cases of COVID-19 in Washington state on February 29, 2020, and

                     WHEREAS, the King County executive issued a proclamation of emergency on March 1, 2020, in order to exercise the executive's emergency powers, and

                     WHEREAS, the executive announced initial plans to house patients without homes, included the immediate purchase of an area motel and the placement of modular housing units;

                     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:

                     We affirm the King County executive's proclamation of emergency issued on

March 1, 2020, and affirm our commitment to aiding in the response to COVID-19.