CORONAVIRUS: Tuesday 4/21 roundup

Though the governor annoonced his “recovery plan” tonight, it was devoid of dates. That tops tonight’s roundup:

‘A SAFE RETURN TO PUBLIC LIFE’: That seems to be the subtitle for what Gov. Inslee discussed in tonight’s short speech; our coverage, with video, is here, including notes from the non-streamed media Q&A shortly afterward. His office has since published a “policy brief” including this visual explanation:

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

*5,379 people have tested positive, up 86 from yesterday

*372 people have died, up 12 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 4,620 and 303.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

BUDGET HIT: The city estimates COVID-19 will take $210 million to $300 million from its coffers. This news release explains some of what’s being done about that.

CO2 SHORTAGE? Reader Lara called our attention to this report in The Guardian, suggesting a pandemic-related carbon-dioxide supply shortage,might affect water treatment. She hadn’t seen anything about it in local media. So we asked the city about it. The response:

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) was made aware of a supply chain issue involving CO2 in early April 2020. We quickly worked to find solutions to the potential issue, including identifying back-up chemical suppliers and sourcing options.

After detailed discussions with the vendor and other utilities, SPU determined that its vendor can meet the Utility’s CO2 supply needs. The vendor considers SPU an essential customer, a designation which gives highest priority for deliveries. To date, there has not been any interruption in CO2 delivery.

SPU will continue to closely monitor its chemical storage levels, future chemical needs and vendor supplies.

SPU has identified backup treatment options if future CO2 supplies become limited. Even if there was a shortage of carbon dioxide in the future, water delivery from the treatment plant would not be compromised.

SPU uses CO2 “for pH adjustment at the Tolt Treatment Plant,” which supplies about 30 percent of Seattle water. (More background on city water, by the way, is in this WSB story from 2016.)

SCAM ALERT: Scammers are continuing to try to take advantage of people worried about COVID-19. Here’s the latest warning.

QUARANTINE REINDEER: In last night’s roundup, we featured another cheer-providing display, an inflatable dragon. Tonight – Diane‘s photo of Rudolph‘s springtime return.

She spotted Rudolph east west of Westwood Village.

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

5 Replies to "CORONAVIRUS: Tuesday 4/21 roundup"

  • Dcn April 21, 2020 (9:52 pm)

    My mistake—the reindeer is just west of Westwood Village, not east. 

  • together is better April 22, 2020 (3:11 pm)

    Anyone else see the interview on CNN 360 earlier, with the Las Vegas Mayor?

    If you have 25 minutes…

    https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/04/22/las-vegas-mayor-carolyn-goodman-reopen-coronavirus-entire-interview-anderson-cooper-sot-nr-vpx.cnn

    Sad, and very concerning to see this, from a city leader.

    Very grateful our local leaders are prioritizing health and safety.

    Is there any hope for the people of this country to get on the same page regarding the pandemic?

    Also, and this isn’t politically motivated, but a serious question and concern… anyone else wondering what impact the ‘stay at home’ measures are having on the Trump business empire? Is he being faced with a major conflict of interest in his role as president, and his business endeavors, with this pandemic?

  • Mj April 22, 2020 (7:41 pm)

    Interesting news segment on KOMO national news regarding Sweden.  Sweden chose a more pragmatic approach and did not shut down the economy and their experts believe they will achieve herd immunity in two to three weeks.  

    • Together is better April 22, 2020 (9:00 pm)

      Yes, Sweden’s economy might be less impacted right now with the approach they are taking, but they are taking an approach that is gambling with peoples lives.

      Not all in Sweden are supportive of the approach, some ‘doctors, scientists, and academics signed an open letter to the government calling for stricter measures.’

       https://time.com/5817412/sweden-coronavirus/

      Also, every country is different, and shouldn’t necessarily respond in exactly the same way.

      One major difference…

      Sweden has a population just over 10M
      The US has a population just over 328M

      Higher population = more hosts for the virus = more people sick = more deaths

  • Mj April 22, 2020 (10:07 pm)

    Time will tell, but the Swede approach may ultimately be the better approach.  A study in California is showing a much higher percent of the population has had the virus than previously noted.  

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