CORONAVIRUS: Friday 4/17 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Seven weeks ago tonight, our state’s first COVID-19 case was announced. Here’s the latest, in our nightly roundup:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Seattle-King County Public Health data dashboard:

*4,902 people have positive test results, up 93 from yesterday

*331 people have died, up 11 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 4,117 and 277.

ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: The data dashboard also shows that West Seattle zip code 98126 now has four deaths; 98106 and 98146 have two each, 98136 has one, and 98116 still has none.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: 11,445 cases and 603 deaths (up from 9,887/475 a week ago); see the full iist of state stats here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them – nation by nation – here.

WEEKEND REMINDERS: Parks are open as long as you “keep it moving’; one neighborhood greenway in West Seattle, meantime, is mostly closed to vehicles:

That’s the sign we saw on 34th SW at Webster tonight; the “Stay Healthy Streets” experiment is explained here.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Did you see a fire engine/truck in YOUR neighborhood? Here’s what SFD tweeted afterward:

We had SO much fun tonight seeing the community members we serve at our first FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS! Thank you to everyone who came to their doorsteps or waved from windows. Next week we will hit the SOUTH end of each of our 33 fire districts. We are #SeattleTogether. pic.twitter.com/SlUuMvtfzj

— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) April 18, 2020

As noted in today’s announcement, tonight they drove in the north areas of each station’s “district”; next Friday night, 7-8 pm, it’ll be the south.

WHAT’S NOT HAPPENING: The canceled-by-coronavirus-concern list adds West Seattle Summer Fest.

WHAT IS HAPPENING: Lots of helping! Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor) collected booties – got any?

NEED FOOD? More helping – the free meals offered by rotating food businesses operating from Delridge’s KBM Commissary are launching – here’s an update:

This week we are preparing 100 four-person meals. The menu is selected and co-ordinated by Jemil’s Big Easy Catering. The menu is chicken in a marinara sauce over penne pasta with zucchini. While we are preparing for 100 people, the number of people who have requested meals is in the single digits.

Could your household use a free meal? Email kbmcovidrelief@gmail.com.

ART WITH HEART: Marta saw this near Jack Block Park:

GOT INFO? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!

J April 18, 2020 (6:48 am)

Yet more evidence of ariborne transmission. The WHO sand CDC really have failed us on this one. We can’t fight a virus when vital transmission information is suppressed. This is why frontline workers are dying. —-https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.044503v1

Also John April 18, 2020 (10:55 am)

You forgot to mention the endless misinformation being spewed out by our DC Administration.

Richard April 18, 2020 (9:18 am)

Since 3/26 I’ve been tracking the daily testing data for four West Seattle zip codes & King County in an Excel spreadsheet (hey, everyone needs a hobby!). Here are some quick stats, keeping in mind that actual testing has not been widespread:King County – daily increase:# of Days with Over 200 positive tests – 5 days (note: 3/27 & 3/28 were 251 & 249 respectively)100 to 199 – 11 daysless than 100 – 6 days (3 of the past 4 days have been under 100 positive tests in King County)The last 200+ day for positive test results was on 4/10 (231 positive tests; 198 & 202 the previous two days)The highest reported positive test results was 269 on 4/5; the lowest was 71 on 4/14 & 77 on 4/15The trends appear favorable, more testing & data is needed but there should be no doubt that social distancing, cleaning & other measures are working … keep smiling!

wseakell April 18, 2020 (2:15 pm)

Thank you Richard! I always come on the blog to see the daily updates, and it’s nice to have someone take the data and chart how it’s changing over time. I’ve noticed the numbers seem to be going down – thanks for confirming my educated guess!

HS April 18, 2020 (1:12 pm)

My condolences to the loved ones and families of our neighbors who have lost someone in this pandemic.

J April 18, 2020 (1:24 pm)

The trend does seem good for the general population, and the stay at home orders do seem to have had good effect generally. I am worried about our care facilities. The only care facility that has reported being able to test all residents and staff here in West Seattle was the Mount. New cases, illness, deaths may all be going unchecked at the other area facilities. Until we get word that complete facility testing has been performed at these facilities and is readily available for mass facility retesting as indicated, I’m afraid that we are still secretly failing. Without more available testing outbreaks will quickly spread through facilities, and out of facilities and into the general population when lockdowns end.

Nancy April 18, 2020 (5:31 pm)

A big shout out to Jemil’s Big Easy Catering! Thank you so much for the delicious meal on Sunday for my family. Your thoughtfulness in providing free meals to the community was very kind. Nancy and family

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