CORONAVIRUS: Thursday 5/7 roundup

Heading into a summery weekend, here’s our nightly roundup of pandemic-related local headlines:

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

*6,863 people have tested positive, up 93 from yesterday

*480 people have died, up 6 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 6,308 and 446.

ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: The toll is up to 5 people in the 98146 zip code, which includes Arbor Heights, The Arroyos, and White Center. 98126 remains at 9; 98106 at 2; 98116 and 98136 at 1 each.

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

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: More than 3.8 million cases – almost a third of them in the U.S. See how that breaks out, nation by nation, here.

MAJOR PARKS TO CLOSE EARLIER: Today’s city announcements included this one – major parks (including Alki Beach, Lincoln Park, and West Seattle Stadium) will close at 8 pm nightly starting tomorrow, until the stay-home order ends. The full list, and a reminder of other current COVID-19-related Seattle Parks policies, is here. That includes “no crowding,” though that seemed a bit flouted at Anchor Park tonight, as shown in this photo just texted:

FIRST ‘STAY HEALTHY STREETS’ TO STAY THAT WAY: Another city announcement – the 20 miles of streets around the city made “local traffic only,” including streets in High Point and Puget Ridge/Highland Park, will be that way permanently.

… AND A THIRD ROUND: In addition to that, two “Stay Healthy Streets” additions were announced today, including one in West Seattle – the north end of Beach Drive, along Constellation Park:

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS MARKET … will be back this Sunday, according to yet another city announcement.

NEED FOOD? 2,000 22+-pound boxes of emergency food will be available to anyone who shows up – while supplies last – 2-5 pm tomorrow at Food Lifeline in South Park.

NEED WI-FI? The state announced more free “drive-in” wi-fi hotspots today. Here’s a map; looks like all the ones available in our area so far are at public libraries (city and county).

STREET ART: Lisa couldn’t find sidewalk chalk, so used temporary paint to create these and other messages at 17th/Myrtle:

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

1 Reply to "CORONAVIRUS: Thursday 5/7 roundup"

  • anonyme May 8, 2020 (3:26 pm)

    I’m already longing for that sweet, sweet spot 3-4 weeks ago when everyone was friendly, supportive, and completely respectful of social distancing.  Traffic was almost non-existent and the air was fresh and clean.  One could actually hear the birds.  The combination of all these factors created a city environment not experienced in many years, yet still highly desirable – and sustainable.  All of these are quickly deteriorating as we return to ‘normal’, and the adjustment is jarring.  Wish I could put chicken legs on my little house like Baba Yaga and wander off somewhere…else.

Sorry, comment time is over.