The King County Noxious Weed Control Program is following the guidance of Public Health – Seattle & King County on the COVID-19 outbreak to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus in our community. We will use the Noxious Weeds blog, website and our e-newsletter to keep you up-to-date about any changes in the program’s operations and events.
What we’re doing
Following the guidance of Public Health – Seattle & King County, we have rescheduled or cancelled all program-sponsored classes and other events in March and April. If guidelines change, we will make additional scheduling adjustments as needed.
While we continue our work of reducing the impacts of noxious weeds, our program is taking the following precautions to do our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
- Follow all Public Health guidance found at kingcounty.gov/COVID.
- Monitor our own health carefully and stay at home if we show any symptoms or are at risk of carrying the virus. Telework as much as is feasible.
- Contact property owners by phone, email or mail.
- Avoid in person contact with anyone unless we have prior verbal or written permission and have made certain the person is not over 60 or otherwise susceptible.
- If we have prior permission and we need to meet in person, we will maintain 6 foot social distancing, minimize contact with surfaces on the persons property and offer to send any necessary material electronically.
- Cancel or postpone program-sponsored public events in March and April (and beyond if it is necessary) and provide online meeting options where feasible.
- At any public events that we do attend, make sure to limit close contact, provide hand sanitizer and clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces.
- Routinely clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces in the workplace such as steering wheels, workstations and shared equipment.
That said, we are still hard at work reducing the impacts of noxious weeds in order to protect the environment and people of King County. Our noxious weed specialists are available by phone or email to give technical assistance and to follow up on noxious weed reports. Our website kingcounty.gov/weeds is a great resource for information on noxious weeds. New infestations can be reported online or using the mobile app King County Connect.
We understand that people are concerned about potential exposure to the virus and advise each family to make their own decisions based upon their personal circumstances.
The best thing you can do right now about COVID-19 is to stay informed! Visit kingcounty.gov/covid to learn more about the virus and how to prevent its spread. Keep updated on the latest developments on the Public Health – Seattle & King County blog at publichealthinsider.com.
Other resources
