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Legislative Update Week Two
Kevin Jensen
Update
We recently had another legislative conference call with the Governor. At this point we have done 692 official state tests with 14 positives. Of those 2 people are fully recovered and no longer contagious. The governor indicated hundreds more tests are being done by the hospital groups with those tests going to out of state labs, so we do not have an exact number of tests, but we do know the number of positives. Currently we are in the lowest risk category by CDC.
The governor also stated that she HAS NOT encouraged or recommend cities shut down. Any decision to shut down businesses would be done on a town by town basis by each city council and some businesses are voluntarily limiting exposure of the customers.
The term 'community spread' is used often and that is the key. Community spread is defined as someone testing positive with no known exposure to someone affected and have not been traveling. So far our cases have a known contact source.
We will be facing this virus for weeks, possibly 8 or more. There is a concern it may get worse before it gets better. Keep in mind there is no "test on demand" with the health care providers. You can't get tested just because you want to know. There is medical protocol that needs to be followed and the test needs to be ordered by the medical providers.
The Governor stated what we already know - there will be a significant drop in revenue and we will have to address some of the planned projects on veto day. We may be putting some on hold till next year. The budget will be affected for several years.
The DOE is working everyday with schools to continue putting education online whenever and wherever possible. They are also working on the how to deal with the standardized tests for those schools who may not be able to keep up with education expectations.
The call completed literally 10 seconds ago when I post this.
We will have another call with the governor early next week, if you have questions PLEASE call or email me and I will get you answers. Stay safe and healthy.
The governor also stated that she HAS NOT encouraged or recommend cities shut down. Any decision to shut down businesses would be done on a town by town basis by each city council and some businesses are voluntarily limiting exposure of the customers.
The term 'community spread' is used often and that is the key. Community spread is defined as someone testing positive with no known exposure to someone affected and have not been traveling. So far our cases have a known contact source.
We will be facing this virus for weeks, possibly 8 or more. There is a concern it may get worse before it gets better. Keep in mind there is no "test on demand" with the health care providers. You can't get tested just because you want to know. There is medical protocol that needs to be followed and the test needs to be ordered by the medical providers.
The Governor stated what we already know - there will be a significant drop in revenue and we will have to address some of the planned projects on veto day. We may be putting some on hold till next year. The budget will be affected for several years.
The DOE is working everyday with schools to continue putting education online whenever and wherever possible. They are also working on the how to deal with the standardized tests for those schools who may not be able to keep up with education expectations.
The call completed literally 10 seconds ago when I post this.
We will have another call with the governor early next week, if you have questions PLEASE call or email me and I will get you answers. Stay safe and healthy.
