By NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The exterior of International House on Maynard Avenue South. (Photo by Assunta Ng)
Residents at International House Senior Living in the Chinatown-International District are nervous.
Pinnacle, which manages International House, sent a letter to residents on March 10 that one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.
“I and other seniors are very worried,” a resident told the Northwest Asian Weekly. The woman in her 80’s asked to remain anonymous. “I don’t know what to do. My children have offered me to go live in their homes. But I don’t know if [the employee] has spread the virus to me or not. If I am affected, I will hurt my children if I go to live with them.”
The employee is “currently under quarantine at the direction of the King County Health Department,” the letter stated. Two other employees who were in close contact with the employee who tested positive have been instructed to self-quarantine and to not return to work for a period of 14 days.
The resident said that all of the crew and manager have left the building.
“There is no one to take care of the building. It’s dirty. No one takes out the garbage or cleans the elevator. We need cleaning service in the building. Meantime, I dare not go out for the fear that I might carry the virus.”
Pinnacle stated in its letter that it has hired a biohazard company to perform a special decontamination cleaning of affected areas. It also said that its leasing office is temporarily closed.
The Northwest Asian Weekly has called and left voicemails at International House, but those calls have gone unanswered. A reporter called Pinnacle’s regional manager and got an outgoing message that stated, “The person you are trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time.”
When asked if the seniors have enough food, the woman said, “We do because many seniors’ kids have delivered food to us. None of them enters the building… they just leave food at the entrance and we go downstairs to pick up the food.”
Kin On, International Community Health Services, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Chinese Information and Service Center, International District Emergency Center, and Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority are organizing to support the remaining seniors at International House.