Snohomish County had the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States. In response to this outbreak, County leadership quickly set up tools and resources to ensure the safety and health of residents. Officials quickly realized the economic impact businesses were facing. As 2020 comes to a close, Snohomish County continues to support residents and businesses confronting the challenges stemming from COVID-19. Below are some of the programs that have been established to combat the pandemic and its effects:

Snohomish County Emergency Coordination Center (ECC)

The ECC has been activated to focus community resources on combatting the spread of COVID-19. Priorities include:

• Supporting Snohomish Health District as it leads the public health response.
• Lessening risk that COVID-19 poses for the most vulnerable populations.
• Preparing for a surge in demand for medical services across the healthcare spectrum as the virus spreads.
• Supporting county departments in planning for continuing operations.
• Providing the community with credible information about COVID-19.
• Supporting vaccine planning and distribution.
• Ensuring adequate PPE supply for frontline workers.

Economic and Workforce Recovery Taskforce

This taskforce focuses on the economic recovery of the County by providing strategy advice to support economic stabilization, recovery, and resiliency of businesses in Snohomish County. They also support workers who have been laid-off as a result of the pandemic. Task force members include public, private and non-profit sector officials. In fact, Snohomish County was one of the first in the nation to establish a taskforce to respond to the pandemic.

Safe Start Kits

To help small businesses on the front lines of economic recovery, the County launched the Safe Start Kits program, distributing 2,500 boxes of PPE and 300 hand sanitizer stands to Snohomish County small businesses.  

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