CORONAVIRUS: Saturday 7/25 roundup

On this last Saturday of July, here’s the latest on the virus crisis:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:

*14,255 people have tested positive, 208 more than yesterday

*640 people have died, 2 more than yesterday

*1,877 people have been hospitalized, 11 more than yesterday

*270,739 people have been tested, 5.631 more than yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 12,991/632/1,800/238,207.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 16 million people have tested positive, and more than 644,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa – same as last week. See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.

FACE-COVERING REQUIREMENT EXPANDS: Today was the day the new rule expansion took effect. As the state recaps here, the rule “require(s) face coverings in any indoor setting outside of your home (not just public buildings) and expands the outdoor requirement to non-public settings when you can’t maintain 6 feet of distance from non-household members. This includes common spaces in congregate living settings, such as common areas in apartment buildings condos, fraternity/sorority houses, assisted living facilities and other similar places.”

SUPREME REOPENS: A week and a half after closing both its locations because of a positive COVID-19 test at its U-District location, Supreme has reopened both.

SOCIAL DISTANCING AT ALKI: Yes, it’s possible! Lynn Hall sent the photo:

GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!

17 Replies to "CORONAVIRUS: Saturday 7/25 roundup"

  • Bandana July 25, 2020 (11:00 pm)

    208 new cases today. 213 cases yesterday. This is a bad trend.

    • Erithan July 26, 2020 (12:12 am)

      Agreed, I’m seeing more establishments slack on things too. Went to Costco today and they’ve stopped limiting the number of people who can enter. It was insanely crowded, no room at all to distance most of the time, made me super anxious. ><

      • flimflam July 26, 2020 (6:51 am)

        it almost feels like , since its summertime (“yay! fun!”), many people have decided to not worry about the virus anymore.

      • Smittytheclown July 26, 2020 (6:52 am)

        You need to read the comments from yesterday’s update and get up to speed.  I was chastised for suggesting that the mostly peaceful protestors contributed to the spike in mid June.  If tens of thousands of mask wearing people didn’t contribute, how on earth can Costco? Indoors, but certainly not confined with those high ceilings and definitely not shoulder to shoulder like the mostly peaceful protestors.  Thinking we should open up sporting events if everyone wears a a mask?  Outdoors?  Check!  Masks? Check!  No spread?  Check!  Go Hawks!

        • Anne July 26, 2020 (11:00 am)

          No no no. Wear masks, socially distance, wash hands-yes-even if you don’t believe in it-do it so we can open up completely. If not-we’ll get shut down again-is that what folks want?? You want your local businesses open? Want school to start in person?? Want sports open to fans?? Folks back to work??Its only going to happen if we all work together-whether you truly believe it or not. Waiting for a vaccine-available for all-will probably take until sometime in 2021.Afraid to know  what would happen if we were being asked to really sacrifice.

        • anna11223344 July 26, 2020 (11:01 am)

          I hear you Smitty. Why do people feel the need to say that the virus isn’t spreading amongst protestors? I saw a photo of protestors in Portland last night, packed tightly together. Of course they are spreading the virus. How could they not be? I don’t think anyone’s saying they shouldn’t be protesting, or at least I’m not. But by continuing to shame people for socializing outside yet also continuing to insist that protestors, however tightly packed in, are not spreading the virus, we are perpetuating a double standard that is based on some collective moral authority that has decided what behaviors are selfish and what behaviors are socially acceptable. It’s weird, to say the least. 

          • AMD July 26, 2020 (1:25 pm)

            Because I believe the scientists/epidemiologists who say the protests weren’t a driver of increasing case counts…  What I don’t understand is the people who insist on dismissing any science that doesn’t reinforce their world view.  

          • heartless July 26, 2020 (3:18 pm)

            Hi again, Anna!

            Why do people feel the need to say that the virus isn’t spreading amongst protestors?”

            First of all, you need to understand that nobody is saying that.  What people ARE saying is that the statistically insignificant increase from protester transmission is more than off-set by other factors, for example fewer people going to bars or restaurants in areas that are protest hotspots. 

            Does that make sense?  If you don’t understand that (slightly) nuanced point go back and think about it more–or ask questions!–until you do.  It’s important.

            Scientists who have spent their entire lives studying this sort of thing were very interested in looking at the epidemiological ramifications of the protests.  Many of them thought that the protests would result in a lot more cases in cities with big protests.  They specifically looked for these increases.  They didn’t find them.

            https://www.factcheck.org/2020/07/trump-wrongly-blames-protests-mexico-for-covid-19-spread/

            I know that you are “not alarmed” that the virus is spreading.  And good for you, I guess?  But please don’t encourage trolls like smitty.  

      • oakley34 July 26, 2020 (7:46 am)

        Noticed this weeks ago and it makes me want to return my membership. Even with the lineup it was quicker in and out before, and obviously with much less risk of exposure.

  • 22blades July 26, 2020 (5:27 am)

    It feels like falling off the opposite side of a hill just climbed. The sense of urgency is fading away while the need is even greater than the first few weeks. For our health, and, for our economy.

  • TJ July 26, 2020 (10:29 am)

    Anybody should have been able to foresee this months ago. I said it on here back in April, that summer was going to see lots of people out and about, and people commented that I was fool. I’ll say it again…this city has over 700,000 people, and even though Seattle has far better compliance in social distancing and mask wearing than almost all other cities (trust me), at 75% compliance that still leaves 175,000 mostly young people who are and about and dont care. Apathy is growing too in this whole thing, so Inslee would be a fool for trying to shut things down again as we would be back here again 

  • WSRes July 26, 2020 (11:04 am)

    Picked up a to-go order on Friday from Pegasus. Seating was like pre-covid. Full tables back to back. I think there’s a way forward that’s safe for everyone without going back to a lockdown, but pretending this isn’t a problem isn’t it. 

    • me July 26, 2020 (1:10 pm)

      You can report businesses that are in violation here: (it’s anonymous) https://coronavirus.wa.gov/report-safe-start-violation If they don’t follow the guidelines they’ll be shut down or we’ll go back into lockdown anyway, so might as well report them, someone will hopefully review their practices and help them be in better compliance.

  • anonyme July 26, 2020 (12:36 pm)

    I was at the farmer’s market today, and while everyone was masked the distancing seems to have gone by the wayside.  Few were paying attention to the markers, and people continually walked up on me to look over my shoulder, almost touching.  I said “distance!” a few times, but people just stared at me.  Clueless.  They’re also letting in dogs, and people shopping in groups of two and more, which I understood to be against current guidelines.   There were lots of volunteers, but they didn’t seem to be doing much that I could see – at least not in terms of enforcing rules.  They were mostly hanging around at the borders.   And then the Access bus driver seemed to think the proper way to wear a mask is resting on your top lip, no nose covering at all.  All in all – worrisome.

  • sgs July 26, 2020 (5:55 pm)

    Love that photo on the little, temporary island.  Wish that had been me.

  • ScubaFrog July 27, 2020 (10:20 am)

    The US needs to shut down for a period of months.  91,000 people have died since trump reopened America (and did nothing to stem Coronavirus).  150k Americans have died in total.  A vaccine is a long way off, and a treatment modality’s only really effective for the worst cases. Virologists have said that the protests haven’t affected coronavirus numbers.  I’d take America’s medical doctors and scientists word anyday over smittytheclowns and anna (unless they’re hiding as the nation’s foremost virologists?) on all matters medical.  Moreover, those same virologists are saying “shut down the nation, immediately”.  Sadly, trump and lt. govt of texas dan patrick are crying out for more blood V the economy.

    • heartless July 27, 2020 (3:14 pm)

      I hear ya, Scuba.

      It also makes me sad–and I know it shouldn’t, but it does–that people come here and post the same old untrue comments and then when others take the time to reply with reason and logic they hide… only to pop up again a day later to repeat the same nonsense.  I know they are probably just trolling and I’m just falling for it, but I get the sense some of them really are just woefully misinformed and I wish they’d come around.  Heh, I guess I’m just wishing the US had a better education system.  But c’est la vie.

Sorry, comment time is over.