CORONAVIRUS: Wednesday 4/29 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

It’s been a busy night, with a late-running community meeting, so our apologies for the lateness – here now, the nightly roundup:

STAY-HOME ORDER TO BE EXTENDED, BUT FOR HOW LONG? This afternoon Gov. Inslee announced two things. The biggest: The stay-home order will extend past May 4th. How much longer? He promised to talk more about “the next phase” on Friday. He also explained a stack of “data buckets” he and other state officials are monitoring. Here’s a new dashboard with that data; here’s our coverage, with video.

NON-URGENT MEDICAL PROCEDURES: The governor’s other announcement was about re-starting them – details here.

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

*6,182 people have tested positive, up 128 from yesterday

*436 people have died, up 9 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 5,449 and 379.

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

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET REOPENING: Today’s biggest local story related to COVID-19 – the Farmers’ Market will reopen this Sunday, for the first time since early March, with big modifications – read about them, take the Shopper Oath, and do some pre-ordering before you go.

STILL NOT OPEN & MIGHT NEVER OPEN: Our partner site updates the status of the King County quarantine site in Top Hat (east of White Center).

LOCAL FACILITIES GET CITY-COLLECTED PPE: The city’s effort to collect and distribute donated PPE continues, and today it was announced they’ve collected 700,000+ pieces of PPE. Some of where it’s gone is listed in the city news release, including three local senior-living complexes – Bridge Park, Arrowhead Gardens, and Brookdale West Seattle.

MORE FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD ART FENCE: Last night we closed the roundup with a poem from this fence at 50th/Andover. Tonight, two photos of what else the fence features:

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

Greg April 30, 2020 (1:23 am)

For my wife and I it has been six weeks at home. We pick up groceries every other week from Fred Meyer. What they can’t give me I go in for. She does all the cooking and is good at it. She is learning how to ferment and pickle and vacuseal I do the buying and try to surprise her with things not on the list. I like to hear her excited approval or scolding. Her Kitchen is Great and I am lucky. We are both laid off since January and March. Our health insurance runs out in July. We will spend alot on Cobra then, as long as possible. She goes out to her folks to help. I tried to help my folks but they can’t be made to safely interact so we can’t go there for now. We love them all. They are all vulnerable so we safely distance. We believe that the most dangerous time for our families is coming now. We feel that folks are about to let their guard down. We will have to take jobs to pay our insurance and mortgage. We know it means we won’t see our folks after that. I think they know too. Our families are preparing to survive this pandemic. I urge you to prepare now as well. Some will make choices that don’t mitigate risks. Those folks are deadly. I urge you to prepare now and not let politics discourage your focus on your family or mine. I urge you to not wait untill a “second” wave. That is a construct of news cycle. Prepare now for the numbers to rise. Help your neighbors by preparing now. Even if it takes weeks, months, or years we must prepare now. I urge this not from a place of panic or fear but from cold prudence. Be well.

Lin April 30, 2020 (10:13 am)

Thank you for sharing, Greg. We’re also not going to see our parents for a long time. We lament about it, but it is the right thing to do. We call them everyday and we also fear for their health everyday. My dad is 63 with hypertension and my father-in-law is 71, and they’ve been going to work throughout the lockdown because they’re essential workers. We urged them to stay home, but they won’t because they believe it’s the right thing to do. We lament about the state of our country and we try to help out where we can. It’s a scary time and we just have to be strong and kind and realize we’re all human and we want the best for West Seattle and our country. May love and unity prevail.
Notoveryet April 30, 2020 (12:49 pm)

Greg, sounds like absolute sheer panic and fear to me. Yes, the numbers will go up, it may go up again in the fall or winter or both. It’s smart to be prepared but we can’t hide forever.
- stay well April 30, 2020 (7:08 pm)
  
  Sounds like you’re afraid (we can’t hide forever)… are you afraid about being cooped up? Feeling like you’re losing your freedom? Afraid about the economy? Your job? What is it?
  
  Why can’t you relax and stay home?
  
  Also, fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A healthy level of fear, keeps us safe.
- Greg April 30, 2020 (10:01 pm)
  
  I’m no coward and I’m not regurgitating someone else’s words or ideas. You won’t need to wait for fall or winter. You will know in a few weeks by the numbers. I look at this from an historical perspective. We are divided and technology is a ways off. I urge my neighbors to prepare physically and more importantly mentally. I am dead calm and ready for what shall come. We must all grow alot of backbone to survive this. Life has been pretty easy heretofore.
  - Stay well May 1, 2020 (7:05 am)
    
    Thanks for sharing yesterday Greg. Hope you and your family stay well.
    
    I agree with you, this is going to be a long haul, and with restrictions lifting and depending on choices people make, it may get worse here soon before it gets better. Good to be accepting of this and prepare now.
    
    Thank you for your sober encouragement.
Kersti April 30, 2020 (1:17 pm)

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️Well said My dad is hospice and my mom just finished chemo. Can’t see them. I even have to distance from my SO as he has a son that goes between homes once a week, and there’s no trusting other people’s behaviors.Many worlds are upside down, mine included. People often don’t think about the impact they have on others and as soon as we loosen up I fear the worst.
- Greg April 30, 2020 (10:10 pm)
  
  I’m calling it my viral family. Right now it is just my wife. We are carefully evaluating our real family and friends to carefully include them into our viral family. It is hard to open up the circle. If things deteriorate, we may be forced to expand if only to help bear the load financially or maybe emotionally. This virus is really challenging to social humanity.

James Walker April 30, 2020 (3:37 am)

It’s time for adults to use their actual names when they make comments on WSB reports. Be accountable for your opinions instead of hiding behind tired and trite pseudonyms. Woman and man up.

heyalki April 30, 2020 (7:01 am)

Not sure if you’ve done this already, but if not…may I suggest doing a story on how to properly wear a face mask? I’ve seen too many people wearing them incorrectly. If it’s going to be the new norm, might as well do it right.

Sillygoose April 30, 2020 (8:31 am)

STILL NOT OPEN & MIGHT NEVER OPEN these buildings are perfect for homeless encampments. I certainly home that they are put to good use rather than sit empty some where.

Mj April 30, 2020 (10:10 am)

The State and County need to also identify on a daily basis the newest unemployment data.

WSB April 30, 2020 (10:34 am)

You can find LOTS of data on the state and county websites. Look at the Employment Security Department if you’re interested in stats like those.
WS Guy April 30, 2020 (11:12 am)

Inslee’s dashboard is a one-sided sales pitch for his lockdowns. It profiles the virus situation, which is getting quite contained. It does not present any information about unemployment or other aspects of public health that are rapidly deteriorating.

If Inslee were competent he would be making tradeoffs against those conditions by looking at the whole data rather than ignoring the damage that he’s causing.
- Rick April 30, 2020 (7:11 pm)
  
  He’s saved so many lives. Money is NOT worth more than life. Now is not the time to have mixed up priorities. You say the virus is getting quite contained. What on earth do you think is doing that?

J April 30, 2020 (10:41 am)

It looks like the farmer’s market is working to make the sale of fresh produce as safe as possible for everyone. I’m glad they’ve taken the time to think through safe operations. Farmers are vital to our health, and local farmers are proving to be vital to our local food security. I hope the execution of safety measures goes smoothly as well, and I encourage everyone to have their masks or scarfs ready for shopping.

Sorry, comment time is over.