17 weeks ago tonight, news broke of King County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. So on we go into the pandemic’s fifth month, with tonight’s roundup:

MASKS UP: First day of the statewide mask mandate. On our usual early-evening drive around the peninsula, we did notice more mask-wearers than usual, including along Alki.

CELEBRATORY MASKS: A Target shopper tells us they spotted red, white, and blue masks for the upcoming holiday. (That fits in with one of the state Health Department‘s “top 10 reasons to wear a mask.”)

NOT SURE YOU’RE WEARING YOURS CORRECTLY? Maybe this grassroots project will help.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:

*9,695 people have tested positive, 83 more than yesterday

*586 people have died, 1 more than yesterday

*1,564 people have been hospitalized, 3 more than yesterday

*155,859 people have been tested, 2,354 more than yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 9,096/584/1,540/137,312.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 9.7 million cases, 493,000+ deaths – see the nation by nation numbers here.

DATA CORRECTION: The state says it’s fixed a problem with hospitalization totals.

MORE OUTDOOR SPACE FOR BUSINESSES: Since we’re still in a phase where outdoor is safer than indoor, the city’s offering businesses the chance to use more outdoor space – temporarily – with less red tape.

NEED FOOD? Free lunch tomorrow. Here’s the announcement:

West Side Presbyterian Church (3601 California Ave SW) is serving a free bag lunch Saturday, June 27, from 12-1 pm. All are welcome but supplies are limited.

OR, IF YOU HAVE FODD TO SPARE: Donation drive tomorrow. The announcement:

Saturday, June 27, 1-4 pm. Food Drive for the White Center Food Bank. 4320 SW Hill St. Sponsored by admiralchurch.org. Attendants on duty to collect food and donations. Our West Seattle neighbors have contributed over 5,000 pounds of food!. Next drive dates are 7/11 and 7/25.

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