CORONAVIRUS: Monday 4/27 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

First construction, now recreation. The governor’s second “reopening” announcement tops tonight’s roundup:

SOME STATE SITES REOPENING FOR RECREATION: Gov. Inslee still won’t say if he’s extending the stay-home order past May 4th, but today he did say one thing will be different starting May 5th: Some state parks will reopen, and some outdoor recreation. Two slides:

Here’s our coverage, with video. P.S. We asked the city if the governor’s inclusion of golf would mean West Seattle and other city courses will reopen. No reply.

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

*5,990 people have tested positive, up 78 from yesterday

*416 people have died, up 9 from yesterday

One week ago, the totals were 5,293 and 360.

ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: One of those newly counted deaths was in West Seattle. According to the data dashboard’s zip-code tracking, 98126 now has 6 deaths (we check all five zip codes daily, and it was 5 yesterday); 98146 remains at 3, 98106 at 2, 98136 at 1, 98116 at 0.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

DELIVERY-CUT CAP RATIFIED: Today the City Council ratified the emergency order, inspired by a West Seattle Chamber of Commerce letter, capping the percentage that food-delivery services can take; here’s the statement from West Seattle-residing Council President Lorena González.

FREE FOOD: If you’re in need, here’s a chance to get help on Wednesday.

TROUBLE PAYING YOUR INTERNET BILL? Comcast sent a news release saying it’s extending temporary policies into the summer such as:

No Disconnects and Waiving Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s Xfinity Internet, Xfinity Mobile, or Xfinity Voice service, and we will waive late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams are available to offer flexible payment options or help find other solutions.

Xfinity WiFi Free for Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots in business and outdoor locations across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi.

SIGNS OF SUPPORT: Did you see SFD and SPD out during Friday Night Lights last week? If your neighborhood got a visit from Engine 36, you might have seen the signs these kids made:

They’re featured at the end of this SFD post, which explains their dad is firefighter Brian Friske of North Delridge’s Station 36, and they made the signs for Engine 36 to display. (No word yet if FNL will continue this Friday.)

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

Wren April 28, 2020 (1:15 am)

Would you know why 98126 seems to have West Seattle’s most coronavirus deaths? It isn’t solely because of Mount Saint Vincent and Brookdale being in 98126, is it?Thanks for your coverage.

Anon April 28, 2020 (7:29 am)

News on the vaccine front is linking very good. A vaccine would be a safe way to get immunity to COVID19 and return to work and school, and the rest of life. Hang in there and pray that God grants success! Here’s a hopeful article… https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/world/europe/coronavirus-vaccine-update-oxford.html

Cool Rick April 28, 2020 (10:51 am)

Good news on the vaccine front, however we need to return to work and school before too much longer regardless…
Free the monkeys April 28, 2020 (1:01 pm)

Good to hear of efforts to create a vaccine. However disappointing and sad to hear they are testing on monkeys. Animal testing is cruel and sometimes isn’t even effective in determining human efficacy. Lazy and unethical science, imo.
- J April 29, 2020 (9:18 am)
  
  I guess that is a point where our values differ. I feel it is morally justified to have a handful of monkeys vaccinated and a handful infected with SARS-COV-2 in an effort to save potentially millions of human lives in the USA.
  - Free the monkeys April 29, 2020 (12:57 pm)
    
    Someone has to speak up for animals. Those monkeys aren’t ‘volunteering’ and testing on them won’t necessarily be effective. There are other ways, and I absolutely want a vaccine created asap to save and protect as many lives as possible.

Doesn't Answer April 28, 2020 (12:08 pm)

I have an unpaid bill. Comcast is calling me several times a day. 4 times this morning. 11 times Monday. 4 times Saturday. I called yesterday about my bill, but I only got an option to pay it, I wasn’t able to talk to a “care team” and find “other solutions”. I think many of their “care teams” are working from home. So their services are limited. I want to talk to a person not a robot.

sgs April 28, 2020 (3:44 pm)

I really respect and support Inslee’s approach for our state so far. Now I’m a bit underwhelmed and would like to hear more details about what is being done to address the lack of testing. The areas opening don’t have a big enough impact to really make a difference to the majority of us or the economic disaster we are facing. Decisions about re-opening should be data driven, but there is also room for wisdom and creativity in the face of lack of data. If the lack of data is due to lack of testing supplies, then it would be great to hear more often how this is being addressed. Are we just complaining about the lack of supplies, or are we doing something to solve it. I’m a supporter of the stay at home strategy; it just feels like there is no movement on vital steps like getting more testing. The news covers the complaint about the lack of testing, but dig a bit deeper and find out what can be done (since the Federal Gov’t is passing that buck). An example of the frustration is the news story about Pence visiting the Mayo Clinic without a mask. Ok, did anyone ASK him or Mayo why that happened? Watching a story all day complaining about his action is spinning wheels. Ask the simple question and move on. and YES, he should have been wearing a mask! Maybe I’ve missed something as I’m watching the news less, but I want to see and hear Inslee more – and with Cuomo like detail. May 4 is in just a few days – we should know what our options might be.

sam-c April 29, 2020 (12:06 pm)

I saw that Pence responded to questions on why he didn’t wear a mask, “he wanted to be able to look people in the eye.” (sounds like he might be positioning his mask wrong :) – and last I saw, he doesn’t wear glasses).Yes, would definitely like to hear what they are doing to ramp up testing, if that is what is recommended in order to open up.

Sorry, comment time is over.