The bridge is huge news – but there’s still a pandemic going on. So, here’s our roundup of local COVID-19 news:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the county’s data dashboard:

*4,697 people have tested positive, up 77 from yesterday

*312 people have died, up 9 from yesterday

One week ago, those numbers were 3,688 and 244.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: More than 2 million cases. See how that breaks out, nation by nation, here.

GOVERNOR’S UPDATE: Gov. Inslee talked this afternoon about the state of the pandemic response in Washington, charts and all – “We’re not out of the woods yet,” he said, despite some promising trends, and he wouldn’t say whether the stay-home order really might end on May 4th as currently scheduled. The availability and rate of testing remains a big hurdle, he warned. See the video here.

FARMERS’ MARKETS REOPENING – BUT NOT WS: The Neighborhood Farmers’ Market Alliance announced today that the U-District and Ballard markets will be open this Saturday, with “modifications” explained here. However, West Seattle and Capitol Hill remain closed. Neither the NFMA statement nor this Seattle Times report explain why; we are following up. (To recap, all markets were closed by a mayoral order calling them “permitted gatherings,” though the governor’s subsequent stay-home order called them “essential.”)

‘CHECK ON YOUR CAR’: Recent West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports have been heavy on auto theft – and SPD says it’s a citywide trend, with this category of crime up 24 percent in the past month. Because of the stay-home order, some victims might not even know their car’s gone – like the owner of one car taken in Ballard and found last week in West Seattle, as noted today on SPD Blotter.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT AFTER LAST NIGHT’S ROUNDUP: Junction Plaza Park’s evergreen will remain lit in blue, in honor of health-care heroes, until the pandemic is past.

MORE NEIGHBOR-TO-NEIGHBOR KINDNESS: Mike sent the photo:

We found this wonderful dancer in our parking-strip vegetable garden. What a treat. We do not know who placed it there, but it is awesome. More evidence of people doing small things to make others smile, without needing to be acknowledged for it.

GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!