County Council cancels today’s State of the County event

City of Vancouver moves the annual State of the City Address to television only later this month

VANCOUVER – The county council decided out of an abundance of caution to cancel the State of the County 2020 event originally scheduled for 6 p.m. today (March 11).

County Chair Eileen Quiring is shown here addressing attendees of the 2019 State of the County event. This year’s event, scheduled for today (March 11), has been canceled due to concerns of the coronavirus. Photo by Mike Schultz
County Chair Eileen Quiring is shown here addressing attendees of the 2019 State of the County event. This year’s event, scheduled for today (March 11), has been canceled due to concerns of the coronavirus. Photo by Mike Schultz

“Public Health is not currently recommending restrictions on public events or gatherings. However, given that some people may be concerned about attending public events at this time, we are canceling tonight’s State of the County,” said Council Chair Eileen Quiring.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 is a new respiratory disease first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. There are now cases of the disease in several countries including the United States and in the state of Washington and one case in Clark County. Clark County Public Health has established a web page to provide the latest information on COVID-19 at https://www.clark.wa.gov/public-health/novel-coronavirus.

The county council’s March 24 hearing will continue as previously scheduled for 6 p.m. in the sixth-floor hearing room in the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St.

For more information on the council’s meetings, visit https://www.clark.wa.gov/council-meetings.

Vancouver State of the City Address

The city of Vancouver has opted to change the format of this month’s annual State of the City Address in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) planning guidance that recommends modifying, postponing or cancelling large public events in order to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) within the community. 

Instead of a public event at Vancouver City Hall, this year’s State of the City Address will be broadcast on Clark/Vancouver Television (CVTV) Comcast channel 23 and HD323, online at www.cvtv.org, and on the city’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram starting at 5 p.m. Thu., March 26.

“While there are no known cases of coronavirus at this time associated with any of the City’s buildings, the decision to change this year’s State of the City Address was made to help keep our community safe,” said Vancouver Mayor McEnerny-Ogle. “I’m looking forward to giving this year’s address, where I will reflect back on the City’s major accomplishments from 2019 and highlight future plans and initiatives.”

The video version of the address will include American Sign Language interpretation and closed-captioning. The State of the City Annual Report to Citizens will be posted on the city’s website at www.cityofvancouver.us/vansoc on March 26.

Information provided by Clark Co. WA Communications and city of Vancouver.