Newsletter Contents:

• Free At-Home COVID Test Kits
• New In-Person Fitness Classes from Seattle Parks
• T’ai Chi Chih Class
• Yoga & Stretching
• Strength & Balance
• COVID-19 Updates on Masks

Free At-Home COVID Test Kits

Good news! Starting this week, if you already ordered 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government’s website COVIDtests.gov, you can now get 4 additional free at-home tests shipped to your home. 

Visit COVIDtests.gov to place your order. Enter your name and mailing address. Include an email address, if you want status updates on your order.

If you haven’t yet ordered any at-home tests from COVIDtests.gov, you can get a total of 8 free tests shipped to your home. You just need to place 2 separate orders — each order equals 4 tests.

ABOUT THE AT-⁠HOME COVID-⁠19 TESTS

• These are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR tests
• Can be taken anywhere
• Give results within 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
• Work whether or not you have COVID-⁠19 symptoms
• Work whether or not you are vaccinated
• Check the expiration date on the test kits you receive and use the tests with the earliest expiry date first
• These tests are also referred to as self-tests or over-the-counter (OTC) tests

New In-Person Fitness Classes

If you prefer an in-person fitness practice to fitness classes online at home, Seattle Parks & Recreation has restarted their Rainbow Recreation program especially designed for LGBTQ+ older adults and their friends.  

Two classes with multiple sessions will be offered at the Miller Community Center, 330-19th Ave East, on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Gentle Yoga allows you to move with awareness, alignment, better balance and flexibility. T’ai Chi Chih is a slow meditative routine of 19 moves and one pose. Chair-seated students are welcome in both classes and no prior experience is necessary.

Classes begin in early April. To register or get information on fees, scholarships, and session dates & times, go to www.seattle.gov/parks, click on “Signup for Classes”, then search for “Rainbow”. Or call Miller Community Center at 206.684.4753.

Join our Winter 2022 series of free, online T’ai Chi Chih® classes for the LGBTQAI+ and gender nonconforming community and their allies. 

T’ai Chi Chih is a slow-moving, meditative routine of 19 moves and one pose. Benefits include: reduced stress, increased energy and mental clarity, improved balance, flexibility, and overall well-being. Beginning and continuing students are welcome. The practice can also be done seated in a chair. 

Join instructor Linda Robinson Thursday mornings for this

10-week series.

Thursdays 10:00 – 11:15 am

Through Mar 31

Register at https://genpri.de/tcc

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Yoga & Stretching

Experience with yoga or stretching is not required. This class is designed to be approachable by all populations, regardless of fitness level. Moves in class are broken down in a slow and manageable manner.

The intention of the class is to move a little and have a lot of fun – even if you don’t perform each move perfectly.

Mondays, 11 am – 12 pm

Wednesdays, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

Fridays, 3:30 – 4:30 pm

+ View events on GenPride Calendar

Strength & Balance

Join us for this 40-minute movement-based class that integrates full-body strength, balance, and core-strengthening exercises.

Exercises will focus on strengthening the major muscle groups of the body in vertical and horizontal positions for strength and challenging our static and dynamic balance.

In this virtually taught class, we will use our own body weight using a chair for balance for support and a mat to aid various core strengthening exercises.

Tuesdays, 3:45 – 4:25 pm

+ View events on GenPride Calendar

COVID-19 Updates

What’s New:

Statewide and county-wide mask requirements for most public indoor spaces in our state expired on March 12. Individual businesses and facilities may still require masks for entry. Public transit, airplanes, healthcare sites, and long-term care facilities also still require masks. Most performing arts venues still require proof of vaccination and masks for their audiences’ safety.

Limiting the threat of COVID is easy as 1-2-3:

1.   Get your COVID-19 booster shot.

2.   Mask-up in public, when recommended.

3.   Test for COVID, if you get sick or exposed.

For free booster shots, contact your doctor or online:

https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/

Four King County libraries are also offering free COVID vaccines in south King County: kcls.org/vaccinated

For masks, wear a mask that filters and covers your nose and mouth whenever you’re in public places. The most-effective, certified masks are: (in this order)

1. N95 …USA-made, behind-the-head straps
2. KF94 …Korean-made, over-the-ear straps
3. KN95 …Chinese-made, over-the-ear straps

If a mask gets torn or wet or its straps stretch out, dispose of it and use a new mask.

Some local pharmacies are distributing up to three free N95 masks to customers who need them.

Note: a cloth face mask alone is not effective against COVID.

For tests, you can order free, at-home rapid COVID test kits from the federal government at: covidtests.gov. Washington state also offers free at-home tests at: sayyescovidhometest.org.

More resources:

https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/current-guidance.aspx

https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19