Redmond city leadership accused of telling employees to stay quiet about having COVID

REDMOND, Wash. — People are accusing leaders in the city of Redmond of telling top command at the fire department to stay quiet about their positive COVID-19 tests.

It’s a story first reported by KUOW that has Redmond Mayor Angela Birney firing back – saying the allegations are false.

However, several people familiar with the matter say that’s not the case.

The chair of Redmond City Council’s Public Safety Committee, Varisha Khan, says she talked first hand with people who got sick – and was told they were ordered verbally to stay quiet.

Multiple City Council members said they first heard about the allegations from an email by a trusted volunteer.

“The email came on March 30, a Monday, at 8:14 p.m.,” said Steve Fields, a Redmond City Council member.

The email said a top official from the Redmond mayor’s office – the chief operating officer – asked several employees of the Redmond Fire Department to not share their positive tests.

The city’s COO is Maxine Whattam.

“How worrisome is that?” asked KIRO7’s Deedee Sun.

“Very. If they were directed, then we need to be told that. Under whatever the appropriate circumstances are,” Fields said. “If fact they acted in what I would say incorrectly and inappropriately, we need to make sure we fix that and hold those people accountable,” he said.

Fields said a separate Teamsters email voiced the same concerns.

KIRO7 has filed public disclosure requests for all emails related to this matter.

Khan, the chair of the public safety committee said she started digging around after hearing these concerns, and talked with some of the people who got sick.

“I was told directly, that was absolutely the case. That our leadership (at the fire department) was told not to tell anyone after they tested positive. They were told this by our COO and that’s who they report to,” Khan said.

Redmond Mayor Angela Birney said in a Zoom call on Thursday that the allegations are false.

“The city did not instruct the command staff to stay quiet,” Birney said.

She said after the city learned of its first positive test, they followed all guidelines from public health and the CDC, shut down City Hall, had the building cleaned, and notified the public.

“The city did ask the employee specifically if they would disclose their positive test results, and no written or verbal authorization was received from the employee,” Birney said. “We have been very careful in making sure we balance providing employee privacy while ensuring the safety of the community,” she said.

Mayor Birney emphasized city leadership did not tell any employees who got sick to stay quiet.

“The allegations are not true,” Birney said.

Councilmember Khan is not convinced.

“The people that were directly affected are saying otherwise. The people who did test positive are saying otherwise. They were directed to do otherwise,” Khan said.

“Do you think the mayor doesn’t know? Or the mayor is withholding the truth?” Sun asked Khan.

“I do believe that the information you are getting is dishonest. And that’s from our city leadership,” Khan said.

Councilmember Steve Fields said it’s possible City Council could take steps to launch an investigation.

“Trust is essential at all times, but trust under these circumstances in a pandemic is life or death for many of us,” Fields said.

Fields said he believes he had contact with one of the employees who tested positive for COVID as well, but said he was not notified.

Both council members indicated that the people directly impacted by this issue did not want to speak out for fear of losing their jobs.

The city confirmed that five employees tested positive for COVID, including four members of the fire command staff.

After this story aired, the mayor’s office issued a press release saying it has directed staff to “initiate an external investigation.”

Below is a message from Mayor Birney:

The safety of the community and our employees is always at the forefront of all decisions being made by the City during this unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation. Recently the media has reported several inaccuracies related to the City’s response to employees that tested positive for COVID-19. To provide the Redmond community with continued transparency, I’d like to take this opportunity to provide you with the facts.

First COVID-19 Positive Case: (Employee 1)

The City was made aware of the first employee positive COVID-19 case on March 12. Employee 1, who tested positive, was off work starting on March 6 and did not show any symptoms until March 9. Prior to March 6, the employee was symptom-free.

At no time did the City instruct the Fire Command staff to stay quiet. Rather, the City acted in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the City was unable to provide the name of the affected employee. The City is obligated to be careful not to identify where the employee worked, gender, or other qualifiers that might identify the employee.

Once the City learned Employee 1 tested positive for COVID-19 on March 12, the City immediately followed the recommendations of Dr. Jeffrey Duchin (King County Public Health Officer) and Dr. Thomas Rea (Program Medical Director for King County Medic One), in consultation with Redmond’s Medical Services Officer, Jim Whitney, to immediately close City facilities, send staff home, and notify staff, the Council and the community regarding the presumptive case and closures. The facilities were then deep cleaned in accordance with CDC recommendations before any employees could return to work. This was done for the safety of employees, the Council, and the community.

First Responders

In accordance with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Union leadership, the firefighter/paramedics who were exposed to COVID-19 at Kirkland’s Life Care Center during the week of February 24 were wearing their personal protective equipment (PPE’s) and were protected based upon our standards at the time. All employees who provided service at Life Care Center were immediately relieved of duty and quarantined for 14 days. None of these employees tested positive for COVID-19.

Employees Who Tested Positive

In accordance with the ADA, the City had intentionally not released the names of the employees to staff, the Council, or the community because we did not have their written authorization.

On March 12, as soon as the City knew Employee 1 tested positive, Employee 2 and Employee 3 were notified of the positive result of Employee 1 and told to quarantine or isolate. Later, Employee 2 disclosed testing positive for COVID-19, but Employee 3 did not disclose to the City. Employee 4 became sick on March 13 but did not report sick until March 16. However, Employee 4 never disclosed to the City that they tested positive for COVID-19. Employee 5 became ill with COVID-19 while off work and did not return to work until fully recovered.

At this time, it is unclear how the employees were exposed to COVID-19 and because Employees 3 and 4 did not disclose to the City their positive results, the City was unable to notify anyone who might have been exposed.

Emergency Coordination Center (ECC)

Within the ECC, there were no guidelines or procedures in place to manage this situation, including properly notifying volunteers. Once it was determined there were significant gaps in the ECC processes and procedures, leadership in the ECC was changed at the direction of the Mayor to ensure a heightened level of service.

Additionally, the volunteers in the ECC were not notified because Employee 3 and Employee 4 who had worked in the ECC did not disclose their positive results to City leadership.

The City continues to follow the recommendations and guidelines of the CDC and King County Public Health to ensure the safety of the employees, the Council, and the community. We have done all we can with the information received during this time. Fortunately, the employees who tested positive for COVID-19 have been able to return to work.

I recognize the complexities of this situation and I have directed staff to initiate an external investigation. I will continue to update you as information becomes available.

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