Here’s our nightly roundup of the major local developments from the past 24 hours or so:

NEW KING COUNTY CASES/DEATHS: No King County briefing today, but the daily news release from Seattle-KC Public Health began:

This is a critical moment in the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in King County. All King County residents should follow Public Health recommendations. Together, we may potentially impact the spread of the disease in our community. Public Health – Seattle & King County announces today 20 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 in King County residents. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 51, including 10 deaths.

The newly reported death was a previously reported case:

This new death was in a woman in her 90s, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth. She died on 3/3/20. With these 20 new results, the total number of cases in King County is 51. The total number of deaths is ten. As more laboratory capacity for testing comes online, more tests and results will be reported. We will no longer be routinely providing details about each case.

Later in the day, one particular case did get some more light in a separate announcement:

A part-time employee at CenturyLink Field who worked at the Feb. 22 Seattle Dragons game has tested positive for COVID-19, though risk to fans who attended is low, according to county health officials.

CANCELLATIONS/POSTPONEMENTS: Our West Seattle list continues to grow – see it here. We are also publishing major institutional/organizational announcements as we get them. Three of note today:
–Senior Center of West Seattle changes starting tomorrow
–Three local UCC churches cancel worship TFN
–Seattle Parks cancels senior (Lifelong Recreation) programs TFN

If your organization, business, school, group, etc. has cancellations, postponements, changes, please let us know – westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302.

WHY NOT CLOSE ALL SCHOOLS? That question keeps coming up, so here’s how SKCPH addressed it today:

Public Health is not currently recommending that schools proactively close unless they have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member or student.

This guidance may have been confusing for some families and schools because schools bring together large groups of children. School closures have significant negative impacts on our community. We will be providing additional information to schools about how to stay open safely. The considerations we have taken in our decision not to currently recommend routine closure at schools include:

Children are not known to get seriously ill from COVID-19
Closing schools may not be effective because some children may congregate anyway, at other locations
Many parents, such as healthcare workers, need to be at work. If these critical workers stay home with children it causes significant impacts on the healthcare system and other institutions that are essential for our community to function
If schools close, some children might have to stay home with alternative caregivers, such as elders, who are more vulnerable
We don’t know how effective children are in spreading this disease
Some children and staff may be at higher risk for severe illness because of underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system. Public Health advises that those people consult with their healthcare provider to decide the best course of action.

Public Health also respects each individual school’s decisions about closures, postponement of activities, or other social distancing measures – as each school knows the needs of their community best.

Public Health is continually assessing our decision not to require the widespread closure of schools. We are continually evaluating information as it becomes available to better inform our decisions about proactive schools closure.

Seattle Public Schools is canceling some events and activities – here’s today’s SPS update.

CITY BRIEFING: One day later than originally scheduled, the City Council heard from department heads this afternoon – here’s video of the 2-hour briefing:

SMALL BUSINESSES HURTING: During that briefing, District 1 City Councilmember Lisa Herbold told a city Office of Economic Development rep that she had heard from a West Seattle small-business owner (who she did not identify) who had warned that they and others were seeing a 20 percent to 30 percent drop in business compared to this time last year, and just a few months of that could be catastrophic.

ADDED SHELTER/ENCAMPMENT SPACE: Mayor Durkan announced today that one tiny-house encampment will be expanded and one added; neither is in West Seattle. You can read her announcement here.

SCAM WARNING: State Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned that COVID-19-pegged scams are circulating.

STATE TOTALS: Want a wider look: The state Department of Health page is updated daily.

(added) VICE PRESIDENTIAL VISIT: Here’s video of Gov. Inslee and Vice President Pence speaking to/with reporters this evening:

(added) WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE CONFIRMED/SUSPECTED COVID-19 OR FEAR YOU MIGHT: Just in late tonight from Seattle-King County Public Health, this advice.

WSB CONTINUING COVERAGE: Whatever we publish is categorized so that you can find it anytime at westseattleblog.com/category/coronavirus. We’re also using Twitter (@westseattleblog) for instant bursts.

Though we published new information earlier today, that’s not all you should know about, so here’s our nightly roundup:

NEW KING COUNTY CASES/DEATHS: From today’s daily Seattle-King County Public Health update:

COVID-19 test results have come back from the Washington State Public Health Laboratory confirming ten additional cases of COVID-19 in King County residents including one death. With these ten new results, the total number of cases in King County is 31. The total number of deaths is nine.

The ten new cases are in:
A female in her 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth
A male in his 50s, associated with Life Care, not hospitalized
A male in his 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth
A female in her 70s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth
A male in his 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at Evergreen
A female in her 90s, Life Care resident, was hospitalized at Evergreen and died on 3/3/20
A female in her 70s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth
A male in his 30s, no known exposure, not hospitalized
A female in her teens, associated with Life Care, not hospitalized
A male in his 80s, a resident of Life Care, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

The announced-earlier cases and deaths are recapped here.

SKCPH RECOMMENDATIONS: Also at this afternoon’s King County briefing, these recommendations – NOT requirements – were announced:

*People at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. People at higher risk include:

-People 60 and older
-People with underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes
-People who have weakened immune systems
-People who are pregnant

Workplaces should enact measures that allow people who can work from home to do so. Taking these measures can help reduce the number of workers who come into contact with COVID-19 and help minimize absenteeism due to illness

If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.
Public Health is not recommending closing schools at this time. If there is a confirmed case of COVID-19, Public Health will work with the school and the district to determine the best measures including potential closure of the school.
All people should not go out when they are sick.
Avoid visiting hospitals, long term care facilities, or nursing homes to the extent possible. If you need to go, limit your time there and keep six feet away from patients.

CANCELLATIONS & POSTPONEMENTS: Those recommendations have started leading to some local postponements and cancellations, so we launched a list. You can find the list here as well as atop our Event Calendar page. Please let us know of cancellations, postponements, changes by emailing westseattleblog@gmail.com or texting/calling our hotline, 206-293-6302.

SCHOOLS: At noted in today’s briefing (the video is atop our afternoon report), it’s up to local schools/districts to decide when/whether to close schools. There are NO cases in Seattle Public Schools, which is publishing daily updates here. From today’s update:

As of today, Public Health continues to recommend that we don’t close schools unless there is a lab-confirmed COVID-19 test result for a student or staff person in attendance at the school. …

Schools are prioritizing hand washing when students arrive at school, anytime they have used the restroom, and prior to lunch. Staff are reinforcing good hygiene and reminding students to sneeze into a tissue or elbow, not to touch their face, and reducing physical hand contact. And, our custodial staff have been working tirelessly to prioritize cleaning common and high traffic areas multiple times a day.

We have also postponed all district-sponsored out of state travel (flights, bus, car, etc.) for staff and students through the end of the school year, including district-sponsored field trips and international travel. Washington state travel is still approved, but flights are cancelled. Schools are working with families on reimbursements and the superintendent will be issuing a letter of support this week to provide to travel agencies and airlines.

Additionally, we have cancelled all school-day professional development in order to prioritize substitute coverage in schools so that we can maintain a focus on student learning.

WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES: The alerts page on the WSF website now carries a coronavirus advisory – this is the heart of it:

We have received questions from customers concerned about having to exchange money or passes with tollbooth staff. Unfortunately, wireless or hands-free ticket scanning is not available at all of our terminals, so it would be very difficult for staff to completely avoid handling money or transit passes. The CDC urges people to practice good personal hygiene, especially hand-washing and using hand sanitizer, as the best defense.

In addition to taking the personal health preparedness steps that have been widely circulating in the news – wash your hands, don’t touch your face, cover coughs and sneezes – there are some other things passengers might consider doing to protect themselves while on the ferry. For example, those who drive onto the ferry are welcome to stay in their vehicle for the duration of the crossing to avoid congested public areas. Those in the passenger cabin should try to maintain a personal distance of six feet; according to the CDC, that is a safe distance to avoid catching most respiratory viruses.

QUARANTINE SITES: During today’s briefing, County Executive Dow Constantine announced that in addition to the Top Hat modular-housing site unveiled Tuesday, the county will also set up portable buildings at sites in Interbay and North Seattle. They have been in storage on Harbor Island and are like this one we photographed at the Top Hat site yesterday:

He also said the motel the county is buying is in Kent (where city leaders are unhappy, The Seattle Times reports). He acknowledged community concerns about the Top Hat site and explained the criteria that it met. No one has been moved to any of those sites yet.

WHAT’S NEXT: Public-health agencies are continuing to release new information daily, late morning or early afternoon. Watch the SKCPH site here and the state Health Department site here. Tomorrow, the Seattle City Council is having a special meeting to discuss Mayor Jenny Durkan‘s civil-emergency proclamation (1 pm Thursday); their planned committee briefing this afternoon with city department heads was cancelled. (Added) Also Thursday, Vice President Pence visits our state; he and Gov. Jay Inslee plan a joint briefing at 5 pm.

WSB COVERAGE: It’s all categorized so that you can find it anytime at westseattleblog.com/category/coronavirus. We’re also using Twitter (@westseattleblog) for instant bursts.

(Added: Archived video of today’s briefing)

While we’ve been publishing nightly roundups of each day’s local coronavirus (COVID-19)-related highlights, and will continue to do that, today we’re publishing King County’s daily news release sooner, because it includes recommendations that everyone will want to consider. Here it is:

State and local officials announced today new recommendations to King County residents aimed at reducing their risk of exposure to COVID-19. We understand these actions will have a tremendous impact on the lives of people in our community. We are making these recommendations in consultation with CDC based on the best information we have currently to protect the public’s health.

This is a critical moment in the growing outbreak of COVID-19 in King County and these measures can potentially impact the spread of the disease.

Public Health is recommending, but not requiring, the following steps:

· People at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places with lots of people and large gatherings where there will be close contact with others. People at higher risk include:

o People 60 and older

o People with underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes

o People who have weakened immune systems

o People who are pregnant

· Workplaces should enact measures that allow people who can work from home to do so. Taking these measures can help reduce the number of workers who come into contact with COVID-19 and help minimize absenteeism due to illness

· If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.

· Public Health is not recommending closing schools at this time unless there has been a confirmed case in the school. Public Health – Seattle & King County also respects an individual school’s decisions about closures or postponement of activities as each school knows the needs of their community best.

· All people should not go out when they are sick.

· Avoid visiting hospitals, long term care facilities, or nursing homes to the extent possible. If you need to go, limit your time there and keep six feet away from patients.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of the “large gatherings” recommendation, we are starting to get word of some cancellations – we have launched a list here that we will continue to update as info comes in. Now back to today’s news release:)

More detail on these measures will be available at www.kingcounty.gov/covid

Case update:

COVID-19 test results have come back from the Washington State Public Health Laboratory confirming ten additional cases of COVID-19 in King County residents including one death. With these ten new results, the total number of cases in King County is 31. The total number of deaths is nine.

The ten new cases are in:

· A female in her 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

· A male in his 50s, associated with Life Care, not hospitalized

· A male in his 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

· A female in her 70s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

· A male in his 60s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at Evergreen

· A female in her 90s, Life Care resident, was hospitalized at Evergreen and died on 3/3/20

· A female in her 70s, Life Care resident, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

· A male in his 30s, no known exposure, not hospitalized

· A female in her teens, associated with Life Care, not hospitalized

· A male in his 80s, a resident of Life Care, hospitalized at EvergreenHealth

No other details about the 10 cases reported today are available currently.

21 other cases, already reported earlier by Public Health, include:

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