634 Washingtonians have died from coronavirus, 11,790 have tested positive

Gov. Inslee on Sunday told “This Week” that Washington needs more testing and better contact tracing to really bend the curve of infections down. Meanwhile, state health officials say 11,790 people have tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, 634 people have died.

Confirmed coronavirus cases across Washington state

Follow live updates today below.

Sunday, April 19

9:35pm – Employees working on Boeing’s 737, 747, 767 and 777 will return as early as third shift on Monday with most returning to work by April 21. Employees for the 787 program will return as early as third shift on Thursday, with most returning to work by April 24.

The company said it’s taken extra precautions to keep employees safe and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read more.

5:15pm – State health officials say 11,790 people have tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, 634 people have died — and increase of 10 people since Saturday. The state says 138,642 people have been tested — and 8.5% are positive.

The state said on its website that total cases reported on Sunday are lower than Saturday. Data cleaning removed 190 confirmed cases that were discovered to be out of state residents

1:43pm – Hundreds of people chanted and waved signs at the capitol in Olympia on Sunday to call on Gov. Inslee to reopen the state and get people back to work. Gubernatorial candidate Tim Eyman told KTTH’s Jason Rantz on Friday that he would be attending.

“It really begs the question, why is it that the government can somehow make itself safe? Boeing can make themselves safe. The Seattle farmers’ markets can make themselves safe,” Eyman said. “But all these other small businesses that aren’t contributors to Jay Inslee, why is it that they have to stay shut down?”

The protest isn’t the only one. People are demonstrating around the world, demanding governments lift countrywide lockdowns.

11:29am – Gov. Inslee told ABCs “This Week” that Washington state is “building an army to act like sort of fire brigade … we need the same capability when you have symptoms to get you tested and isolated as appropriate.”

Inslee said he’s proud of Washingtonians for massive compliance under the Stay Home, Say health order and for pitching in.

“We have a lot of things to be happy about and prideful about. The problem however though is we still have not got the curve going down. We’re sort of plateaued,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee tells @GStephanopoulos. https://t.co/GMGiSleqvZ pic.twitter.com/DvIzwmaLpc

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 19, 2020

10:55am – The European Center for Disease Control says the continent now has more than 1 million confirmed cases and almost 100,000 deaths from the new coronavirus. According to the tally, Europe accounts for almost half the global case load and more than half the total deaths. Read more from the AP.

7:40am- Vice President Mike Pence says 150,000 coronavirus tests are now being conducted daily in the U.S. but suggested that governors and not the federal government were to blame for numbers not being higher.

Pence tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” that, “if states around the country will activate all of the laboratories that are available in their states, we could more than double that overnight.” Read more from AP.

Saturday, April 18

5:28pm – Health officials say 11,802 people in Washington state have tested positive for coronavirus. Of those 624 people have died. The state says 135,706 people have been tested, putting the positivity rate at 8.7% That number has stayed the same for several days. Early predictions from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said Washington state would see about 1,400 deaths due to COVID-19, but that number has recently dropped in half to 694. The IHME also said, based on statistical evidence, Washington would be safe to start reopening around May 18. Read more about the IHME model from KIRO Radio reporter Hanna Scott.

4:43pm – The virus is believed to have infected more than 2.3 million people worldwide. While most recover, the outbreak has killed at least 155,000 people worldwide, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally based on figures supplied by health authorities around the globe.

The number almost certainly underestimates the actual toll. Nearly everywhere, thousands have died with COVID-19 symptoms — many in nursing homes — without being tested for the virus, and have thus gone uncounted. Read more from AP.

3:07pm – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday the U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their border closed to nonessential travel for another 30 days and he said it will be undoubtedly longer before the restriction is removed.

Trudeau said it will keep people on both sides of the border safe amid the pandemic.

“The agreement is the same terms. It’s just extended for another 30 days. It will ensure we continue to get essential goods and services back and forth across the border,” Trudeau said. Read more from AP.

1:48pm – The City of Seattle is closing some streets to vehicle traffic so that people can enjoy the streets for walking and bike riding. Streets in the Central District and High Point Neighborhoods, and part of west Greenlake are closed. Seattle DOT is asking for suggestions about more streets to close to cars.

Stay Healthy Streets are starting with 2.5 miles in the Central District and High Point Neighborhoods (see maps), but will be expanded over time! @seattledot is looking for volunteers to help with monitoring these streets (email NorthSeattleGreenway@Seattle.gov). pic.twitter.com/PW6lJMnmJx

— Seattle Greenways (@SNGreenways) April 17, 2020

Portion of West green Lake is now closed to vehicles. Open to safe distancing people walking and rolling. pic.twitter.com/eeHbV7TzWk

— Dongho Chang (@dongho_chang) April 17, 2020

8:21am – In a joint statement Saturday, foreign ministers from 13 countries, including Canada, Brazil, Italy and Germany, called for global cooperation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic.

“It is vital that we work together to save lives and livelihoods,” they said.

The statement was also backed by Britain, France Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey. Read more from AP.

7:46am – All 21 members of the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus are banding together to demand that Governor Jay Inslee rethink the plan to release over 1,100 inmates in the state prison system. Read more.

Friday, April 17

6:00pm – The state Department of Health is reporting 11,445 total confirmed cases, with 603 deaths statewide from coronavirus. Out of the 11,445 positive cases, 444 are not assigned yet to a county. There have been 131,627 tests, 8.7% positive.

5:26pm – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan provided additional information about the streets that will be closed to cars this weekend, converted to provide for more exercise space for local residents, called “Stay Healthy Streets.”

Tomorrow, we are converting 2.5 miles of existing greenways and calm residential streets into Stay Healthy Streets. Portions of 25th Ave S and 34th Ave SW/SW Graham and Holly St/High Point Dr SW are opening to neighbors for walking, rolling, and biking https://t.co/oEBkJ5nJZX

— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) April 17, 2020

5:04pm – Since the coronavirus outbreak has prevented firefighters from engaging with the community through tours and community events, Seattle Fire will drive fire trucks slowly driving through their residential districts on Friday nights, as well as areas with assisted living and long-term care facilities.  Read more.

4:51pm – Mariners pitcher Marco Gonzales and his wife Monica donated blood today at T-Mobile Park. The special donor event for Seattle Mariners employees was part of Bloodworks Northwest’s pop-up blood drives that are being held at the ballpark three days a week through the month of May.

4:22pm – In the first 18 days of testing, the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN) said it has identified 44 positive cases of coronavirus out of the 4,092 total samples (1.6%) collected across King County. Read more.

3:18pm – Gov. Inslee has issued a stay-at-home order that ends on May 4.  There’s speculation that he could extend it. President Trump has outlined a 3-part plan for reopening America. So what do you think? Take our poll here.

2:51pm – Despite dealing with the early days of coronavirus cases popping up in Washington state, NWMLS reports the March real estate market was strong with a 5.2% increase in new home purchases (compared to March 2019) The median house price was up 10.3% compared to 12 months ago and total sales were up 7.6% year over year. Ultimately, the NWMLS said it’s too early to tell what’s happening with the local real state market.

“There are so few news transactions happening that all the data needs to be discounted because there’s simply a lack of conviction one way or the other,” the NWMLS said in its newsletter on Friday.

1:43pm – Researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University are launching a study to examine coronavirus transmission between humans and their pets.

“There’s certainly more evidence of people infecting animals than there is of animals infecting people,” said Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, professor in the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences and the Department of Global Health. “But we need to understand the risk better and help people with good preventive practices to avoid transmission between people and animals.”

Researchers want to test 100 King County households with pet owners who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. They’ll be asked to complete a survey about interaction with their pets, including whether they isolated themselves from pets are washed their hands before handling them.

According to a recent study by researchers in China, cats and ferrets are more susceptible to coronavirus than dogs.

12:54pm – Gov. Jay Inslee spoke out against recent calls from President Trump on Twitter to “liberate” a handful of states operating under stay-at-home orders. Read more. 

“The president’s statements this morning encourage illegal and dangerous acts. He is putting millions of people in danger of contracting COVID-19,” Inslee stated. “His unhinged rantings and calls for people to ‘liberate’ states could also lead to violence. We’ve seen it before.”

“The president is fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies — even while his own administration says the virus is real, it is deadly and we have a long way to go before restrictions can be lifted,” he continued. “Yesterday, the president told the nation science would guide his plan for easing restrictions. The White House released a sensible plan to resume economic activity. 24 hours later he is off the rails, ignoring his own plan and spewing dangerous, anti-democratic rhetoric.”

11:54am – UW Virology delivered a press conference Friday, detailing its work to develop an antibody test for COVID-19.

The test will track antibodies in the blood of patients to accurately determine those among the population that had the virus but later recovered.

“This has given us a fantastic tool against the virus,” said Dr. Keith Jerome, Director of the UW Medicine Virology Lab.

Despite several different antibody tests being developed across the country, the lab touts theirs as “one of the best right now.”

The test will start being offered at the beginning of next week, and will need to be ordered by a doctor. Frontline workers will be among those prioritized, although UW Virology cautioned that “realistically, not everyone is going to be able to get this test next week.”

Eventually, UW Virology expects it will be able to run between 3,000 and 4,000 of these tests a day.

11:13am – The Fremont Solstice Parade and the Celebration at Gasworks Park will not take place in 2020, the Fremont Arts Council announced Thursday.

The annual summer celebrations will take place in a virtual format on June 20, and is looking for artists, members, sponsors, volunteers, and multimedia content to help organize it.

If you’d like to be a part of that effort, you can send the Fremont Arts Council an email at volunteer@fremontartscouncil.org.

10:24am – Looking to stay busy this weekend while stuck at home? King County is offering a free online class on sustainable food gardening Saturday between 10 and 11:30 a.m. PDT.

You can register for the class now here.

9:37am – Seattle-King County Public Health sent out a reminder Friday, asking that shoppers in grocery stores maintain at least six feet from each other at all times, “consider wearing a mask,” leave reusable bags at home, and follow any other safety guidelines laid out by each store.

9:03am – Speaking to KIRO Nights, former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels details how the city might look at the process to reopen, and how it will need to lean on the input of both health officials and the community. Read more. 

8:19am – Seattle will be closing a handful of streets to vehicle traffic starting Saturday, to allow more space among people walking and biking through neighborhoods.

The closures will affect roughly 2.5 miles of streets in the Central District and West Seattle, following the lead of cities like Oakland, which recently closed 74 miles of its streets to cars.

7:21am – Traffic volumes continue to be low as Puget Sound residents remain in their homes. According to KIRO Radio’s Tracy Taylor, volume along I-5 through Everett is down 43% since the start of Washington’s stay-at-home directive, and down 46% in SoDo compared to February.

6:39am – The Washington State Department of Corrections published a roster of over 1,100 inmates who will soon be released, on the heels of an order from Gov. Jay Inslee.

The move was made as a social distancing strategy in order to reduce crowding in prisons. Inmates being released must fit a handful of criteria — they cannot be serving time for violent or sex offenses, and must have had an original release date prior to June 29, 2020.

6:01am – The University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation will be releasing an updated forecast Friday on what we can expect for the continued spread of COVID-19 across the country.

The IHME’s model has become the foremost predictor to measure peak hospital strain, fatality numbers, and more. It was last updated Monday of this week.

5:27am – The City of Seattle released details on its plan to allow farmers markets and parks to remain open this weekend.

The Ballard Farmers Market will be allowed to operate on Sunday with 28 vendors and 12 staff, while the University District Farmers Market will operate Sunday with between 30 and 35 vendors, and 12 to 15 staff.

The two markets were granted these one-time permits for Sunday “after several conversations with the City in which they demonstrated their ability to ensure vendor and community compliance with necessary social distancing guidelines.”

In parks, the City will be deploying 60 “Social Distancing Ambassadors,” “to remind people to social distance and not gather.” They will be logging hourly data on usage in major parks, which will close if usage gets too high.

Parking lots in parks will remain closed to discourage overcrowding.

Thursday, April 16:

9:59pm – State health officials say 11,152 people have tested positive for coronavirus, and 583 have died. At least 128,900 have been tested, 8.7% are confirmed positive. That is an increase of 16 more deaths than Wednesday, and 369 new cases.

7:06pm – Artists in Seattle started “tagging” boards hanging over many restaurants and businesses that have had to close their doors during the stay-at-home order. Read more.

5:48pm – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced new guidelines for the safe use of city parks, greenways, and local farmers markets as another weekend of sunshine is on the way. Ballard and University District farmers markets are reopening this weekend with additional spacing and specific guidelines. Major parks will remain open for exercise, but residents will be encouraged to keep moving, not holding picnics or gathering in groups. Two neighborhood greenways will also be opened in West Seattle and the Central District to allow exercise opportunities free of cars.

“The Governor’s order is Stay Home – not stay out. The social distancing necessary to keep us healthy will mean a new normal for Seattle’s parks, farmers markets, and public amenities. Stay home, but if you need to exercise or go to get groceries at the farmers market, please no crowds, no gatherings, and keep it moving,” Durkan said.

Seattle Parks staff will be monitoring the parks through the weekend and may close parks if deemed necessary.

5:26pm – King County Metro will further reduce weekday bus service starting Monday, April 20, and weekend bus service will be reduced starting Saturday. The Water Taxi and First Hill Streetcar are continuing to operate on previously reduced schedules.

Sound Transit will also reduce service on Link starting Monday, and on ST Express routes starting Saturday. The Link, ST Express routes, and Sounder services are all operating at reduced levels now as Sound Transit reported an 87 percent reduction in ridership system-wide.

4:40pm – Gov. Inslee was joined at a press conference this afternoon by Suzi LeVine, Commissioner for the Employment Security Department (ESD).

He opened with “good news,” reporting President Trump’s announcement that governors and local officials will make the final calls on reopening their respective states. Inslee said two things will be needed to move forward for Washington state: a fewer number of infections, and a much more robust testing and contact tracing organization.

LeVine was then introduced to discuss the unemployment situation in Washington state. The ESD has seen record numbers of applications for benefits in the last few weeks due to the coronavirus crisis.

This weekend, the ESD will be rolling out updates for the provisions included in the CARES Act that expands the eligibility for unemployment benefits, increases the weekly benefit amount, and extends the length of time a person can be on unemployment to 39 weeks.

She also emphasized four things people can do to be prepared before applying for unemployment, which are: signing up for action alerts from the ESD, using the eligibility checker, ensuring you have everything on the application checklist, and signing up for a secure access account before applying.

The office is “all hands on deck” to review cases and get benefits to people as soon as possible. They are increasing the customer service hours, and the entire ESD staff will be focused on the wage verification effort. Additionally, while the office works to catch up, any workers who need to supply wage documentation will be provided with the minimum weekly benefit up front, and once verified, will be paid retroactively for the difference.

3:33pm – President Donald Trump gave governors a road map Thursday for recovering from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, laying out “a phased and deliberate approach” to restoring normal activity in places that have strong testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases.

“We’re starting our life again,” Trump said during his daily press briefing. “We’re starting rejuvenation of our economy again.” Read more from AP.

2:32pm – Boeing announced on Thursday it will resume all commercial airplane production in a “phased approach” at facilities around the Puget Sound region next week.

The company said it’s taken extra precautions to keep employees safe and to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Read more.

1:54pm – The City of Everett plans to launch the Everett Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (Everett CARES) Grant Program. The $1 million grant program will support small businesses and nonprofits affected by coronavirus. Businesses can begin applying on April 30, if the city council approves of the grant on April 29.

“Small businesses and nonprofits are the heart of our community,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin. “When they suffer, we all suffer and when they thrive, we all thrive.”

12:36pm – The City of Seattle announced Thursday that it will be making up to 100 rooms at the Executive Pacific Hotel available for health care workers fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

The rooms will also be available for health workers who are asymptomatic with COVID-19, but who must remain in isolation.

“Our health care workers are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and they are routinely asked to risk their own personal safety to help others. We know that failure to provide protections for health care workers, including isolation spaces like these, can have devastating consequences,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said in a news release.

11:55am – Earlier this week, President Trump asserted he has “total” authority when it comes to ordering states to relax social distancing measures. According to former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, though, that’s a problematic claim to say the very least. Read more. 

11:22am – Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is hosting a virtual town hall Thursday at 6 p.m., in a bid to organize a rent strike on May 1.

Sawant hopes to use the strike “to build statewide momentum” for a suspension of rent, mortgage, and utility payments, and a freeze on rent increases while the coronavirus crisis persists.

10:44am – At 12 p.m. today, King County Metro buses will be sounding their horns in unison as a show of solidarity for transit workers.

“Open your windows to listen and join us in celebrating the people keeping our region and our country moving,” King County Metro said on Twitter.

10:19am – Washington state hasn’t been spared from wide-ranging job loss that’s ravaged the rest of the country’s workforce, with over 143,000 unemployment claims filed last week.

That number is 12% down from the previous week, but still 23 times more year-over-year from 2019.

In total, nearly 600,000 Washingtonians have filed for unemployment in the last four weeks.

9:34am – Washington businesses are counting on the state’s ports to get their goods to market, but are the ports ready to handle upcoming shipments?

The problem the ports have been dealing with has been on the destination side of the supply chain. With Asian market ports closed earlier this year, it’s become difficult to get products to customers. Read more. 

8:43am – Seattle’s own Joel McHale will be streaming a live chat with Fred Hutchinson modeler Dr. Joshua Shiffer Thursday at 11 a.m., to talk about “the next steps in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.”

You can follow Joel McHale on Instagram here to watch live, and submit questions by using the #JoelAsksFredHutch hashtag on Twitter.

7:58am – With the roads almost empty these days, how much money is the state losing in toll revenue? Read more from KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan.

7:01am – CDC head Dr. Robert Redfield told ABC’s Good Morning America that across his department, FEMA, and the White House coronavirus task force, a plan is in the works to reopen the country state-by-state.

“This will be a data-driven plan and we will support states through this process,” he noted.

You can watch the interview in its entirety here.

6:10am – Another 5.2 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, as reported by the federal government. Combined, almost 22 million people have filed for jobless benefits in the last month, shattering the record for U.S. job losses.

Around 12 million people are now getting unemployment checks, mirroring the peak of January 2010, after the end of the Great Recession.

5:49am – The Gates Foundation pledged an additional $150 million in funding for the global coronavirus response, bringing its total contributions up to $250 million.

That money will go toward modeling to help predict the ongoing spread of the virus, as well as for “technical assistance” and “more effective diagnostics.”

5:06am – UW Virology announced a breakthrough Wednesday afternoon, in its work developing an antibody test to track COVID-19 in the blood of patients who have recovered from the virus months after the fact.

This is the first step in what’s known as serological testing — described by some as the “gold standard” for tracking the virus — which allows for testing to determine whether someone could potentially be immune after recovering from COVID-19, and safe to return to work.

UW Virology stated Wednesday that “the first set of validation experiments looks very good,” and that it may be able to starting offering clinical testing for thousands of patients a day as soon as next week.

Wednesday, April 15

9:50pm – President Donald Trump said he’s prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work. Read more from AP.

5:32pm – The Thurston Regional Economic Task Force created the COVID-19 Economic Recovery Initiative to provide information to workers and employers in Thurston County during the coronavirus crisis, and to develop a response to the pandemic and its local, community impacts. The task force named this initiative “Thurston Strong.”

4:33pm – Health officials in Washington state say 567 people have died from coronavirus. Cases have climbed to 10,783. Over 124,000 people have been tested, with a positivity rate of 8.7%.

3:33pm – Gov. Inslee cautioned Washingtonians on Wednesday about ending social distancing too early, pointing to a series of graphs that show an increase in the number of cases and deaths should distancing end today or last week.

“We’re not at a level where we can take off social distancing,” Inslee said.

Currently, the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order is in effect until May 4. Read more.

2:29pm – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the deployment of six new hygiene stations that will be open 24/7 to be located at Victor Steinbrueck Park, Waterfront Park, 45th Avenue and I-5, St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank, University Heights Center, and Bell Street Park. With these six facilities, there will be a total of 26 new portable toilets and 12 hand-washing stations added in the last two weeks.

1:42pm – Gov. Jay Inslee will be giving a press conference at 3 p.m. Wednesday to provide an update on the state’s response to COVID-19. The current Stay Home, Stay Healthy initiative from the governor is in place until May 4. Check back for live updates or tune in to KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM.

1:28pm – Disinfect Connect is a Pacific Northwest based, volunteer-run organization that sprung into action due to the pandemic. They are partnering with distilleries to connect hand sanitizer with medical providers. Learn more from co-founder Miles Pepper.

12:16pm – The University of Washington posted the full video from its first class on the coronavirus pandemic. You can watch the hour-long digital session on YouTube here.

11:21am – While it’s been tough being stuck indoors during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, there has been at least one upside for Washingtonians: A significant decrease in spam phone calls.

According to a recent study from AllAreaCodes.com, Washington has seen a 69% decrease in spam calls since late February, the fourth most of any state (behind Arizona, Louisiana, and New York respectively).

10:34am – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ordering all residents of the state to wear masks or face coverings whenever they’re out in public.

The state leads the nation in coronavirus cases, adding nearly 2,000 to its total every day.

10:06am – Responding to a recent decision from Gov. Inslee and the Washington State Department of Corrections to release up to 950 low-level nonviolent inmates, Seattle Police Officer’s Guild President Mike Solan voiced his concerns from a law enforcement standpoint.

“We are concerned about the safety of our neighborhoods in these already difficult times and it requires a team effort,” he stated in a written release. “We have had no detailed briefings on the early release of nearly 1,000 inmates. It’s the communities across our great state and our officers that protect them that will end up dealing with the negative outcomes of these decisions and its risk to public safety. They are behind bars for a reason. We’d hope for more of a partnership when it comes to matters involving public safety.”

9:39am – Alongside a handful of Senate Democrats, Washington Sen. Patty Murray laid out a plan Wednesday to vastly expand the country’s coronavirus testing capacity at the federal level. Read more. 

9:12am – Washington state exporters have been getting crushed this year, whether it’s Boeing not delivering planes or our geoduck farmers not able to sell their products to Asian markets. So, how long will this last, and will closed ports and the lack of shipping options doom our farming industry? Read more. 

8:46am – The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is warning people to keep an eye on wildfire conditions and burn restrictions “before you get started on the burn pile or mow the lawn,” especially as residents stuck indoors begin “knocking out spring chores.”

7:42am – KIRO Nights spoke to Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday night to talk about the state’s plan for increased testing, his relationship with the Trump Administration and more. Read more. 

6:51am – President Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to order the U.S. to halt its funding for the World Health Organization, an approach that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates labels “as dangerous as it sounds.”

“Their work is slowing the spread of Covid-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs (the WHO) now more than ever,” Gates said on Twitter.

5:58am – Local Seattle-area health experts continue to call for the presence of more scientists at White House daily briefings on the coronavirus.

“The US needs science not politics driving our pandemic policies,” Fred Hutchinson researcher Dr. Steven Pergam said Tuesday.

Pergam has long pushed for a larger presence from the CDC on the White House coronavirus task force, stating that these experts “should be at the forefront.”

“We need more science and substance in these briefings,” he said in late March.

5:25am – A new report from Bellevue’s Institute for Disease Modeling says that the state’s social distancing measures are working as intended, but still must continue to remain in place.

In King County, the effective reproduction number — essentially a numerical measure of how quickly the virus is spreading person-to-person — has now dropped below one, estimated to be around 0.73 (with 95% confidence from the report). That number was up around 2.7 in late February, and 1.4 in mid-March.

The IDM saw similar trends in both Snohomish and Pierce Counties, although “changes in Pierce County lagged” behind.

That all being so, it also concludes that measures must remain in place to prevent a resurgence in new cases.

“While current levels of adherence to physical distancing policies are effectively controlling the rate of spread of COVID-19, the region is in a precarious state and must maintain distancing to prevent rebound transmission,” the report reads.

Tuesday, April 14

8:35pm – State health officials on Tuesday report 541 deaths due to coronavirus in Washington state, an increase of 25 deaths. The number of cases has reached 10,694. The state says it has tested 122,854 people, which is a huge increase from about the 87,000 it had tested as of April 3. That number has stayed in the 87,000 change for about a week. The positivity rate has also stayed at or near 8.5%. On Tuesday that number sits at 8.7%.

8:16pm – Gov. Inslee says he would like to see the state transition to an individualized approach to isolating or quarantine someone who is ill with coronavirus, rather than shutting down the entire state. Read more from KIRO Nights.

5:35pm – Metro Parks Tacoma announced on Tuesday it is furloughing 85 staff members due to the shutdown of sites and programs across the city. The Park District projects are losing $13 million in fees, sales, and property taxes, according to the city.

“It is heartbreaking to furlough staff whose unwavering passion helps our agency operate at the highest levels,” Executive Director Shon Sylvia shared in response to the difficult decision. “After extensive research into state and federal assistance, this furlough plan is designed to preserve income and benefits while allowing us to keep enough staff on hand to manage essential functions during the closures. We will get through this, and our talented staff will return to do great work for the community.”

5:23pm – Tim Eyman, a gubernatorial candidate, is condemning Gov. Inslee’s partnership with Oregon and California on a plan for reopening the West Coast economy, calling it a “suicide pact.”

“He proposes ending the economic and social lockdown, and putting county officials – not other states – in charge,” Eyman wrote in a campaign newsletter.

4:25pm – The San Juan County Council has asked all visitors and non-essential workers to postpone their travel, prohibiting all non-essential travel to the islands at this time.

“When this is all over, we look forward to welcoming you back to the San Juan Islands.”  Read more here.

3:44pm – President Donald Trump says he has directed a halt to U.S. payments to the World Health Organization pending a review of its warnings about the coronavirus and China. Read more from AP.

After weeks of saying he would leave major decisions in the hands of states, Trump abruptly reversed course on Monday, claiming that his power, despite clear constitutional limitations, was absolute.

“When somebody is president of the United States, the authority is total,” Trump said at the White House. “The governors know that.” He declined to offer specifics about the source of his asserted power, claiming he would provide a legal briefing at a later date.

2:35pm – The Spokane Regional Health District has confirmed a total of 278 cases in Spokane County, with 17 COVID-19 related deaths. Additional updates from individual counties and from the state Department of Health are expected this afternoon.

1:47pm – Washington state airports will receive more than $310 million in relief funding under the CARES Act, which included $10 billion in federal grants to support commercial and general aviation airports across the country.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will receive the most of any local airports at $192.133 million. For a map of airports statewide receiving CARES Act grants, click here.

1:30pm – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan launched an expansion of the grocery voucher program Tuesday to provide $800 grocery vouchers to 1,000 working people who have recently lost their job or are working reduced hours due to coronavirus. Twenty-one non-profit tenants in Seattle Center will also receive a grant from this fund.

The Oak View Group and NHL Seattle contributed a $1 million donation to this program, including $200,000 for artists and cultural organizations.

12:54pm – Snohomish County has received almost 106,000 pieces of personal protective equipment from generous donors for medical workers, school food programs, food banks, and funeral homes.

That includes 7,200 pairs of goggles, 1,500 pairs of glasses, 2,500 pairs of service gloves, over 80,000 pairs of medical gloves, 1,200 respirator masks, 9,100 surgical masks, 3,800 N95 masks, and 55 face shields.

12:02pm – The Tacoma Police Department released a social distancing music video Tuesday, in a bid to educate the community on proper behaviors.

“This can sometimes mean using a novel approach,” said Tacoma PD Chief Don Ramsdell.

11:14am – Citing difficulties brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Census Bureau is extending the window for self-response and field collection data for the 2020 Census to Oct. 31.

10:28am – The Washington State Nurses Association will be providing free hotel rooms for the state’s nurses and health care workers, in partnership with King County and the City of Seattle.

WSNA members can call (206) 575-7979 ext. 6004 for more information on how to get a room in either Seattle or Bellevue.

9:50am – While questions continue to circulate regarding when the U.S. will be able to reopen, Dr. Anthony Fauci — the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease — doesn’t believe the country is ready.

Citing the need for a more expansive system of testing and contact tracing, Dr. Fauci cautioned that “we’re not there yet,” in an interview with The Associated Press.

“We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on,” he stated.

9:05am – To date, the Seattle Office of Economic Development has received almost 9,000 applications to the recently-established Small Business Stabilization Fund.

The City is now looking to fundraise for future rounds to meet this growing demand, asking that any individuals or organizations interested in donating send an email to covidpledge@seattle.gov.

8:13am – A new study to understand the future of how COVID-19 will spread in the “postpandemic period” predicts that least some level of social distancing may continue to be necessary as late as 2022.

“Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded,” the study’s abstract reads. “To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022.”

7:29am – The City of Seattle has opened up a limited number of classrooms to provide emergency no-cost childcare to the children of health care professionals, first responders, pharmacy workers, and grocery store employees.

Twenty-eight classrooms with the capacity to care for 230 total kids are now available, spread across 17 sites in Seattle

6:45am – Drive-thru coronavirus testing is now getting on its feet in Kitsap County, limited to medical workers, first responders, people working in essential services, Department of Defense employees, and those in high risk groups.

Tests will only be distributed at this new site for anyone in one of those categories who is also demonstrating symptoms.

6:01am – With Seattle continuing to abide by the statewide stay-at-home order, SDOT is reporting a 60% dip in traffic.

To account for that dip, it will be changing signals to “reduce wait time for people and to run essential errands,” according to KIRO traffic reporter Tracy Taylor.

5:23am – A pair of King County Councilmembers are calling on Gov. Inslee and President Trump to impose a freeze on all rent and mortgage payments during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

“Every day my inbox is flooded with people who are terrified. They are afraid of the virus, but are equally afraid of losing their livelihood and their homes,” said King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, who is a co-sponsor with Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles on a resolution petitioning the state and federal governments to take action.

Monday, April 13

8:18 pm – State health officials say 516 people have died in Washington from coronavirus. A total of 10,538 people have tested positive for the virus. The state says 87,784 people have been tested. Garfield County in southeast Washington is the only county in the state still not reporting any cases of coronavirus.

5:49pm – The Seattle City Council approved legislation to freeze storefront rent for nonprofits and for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees that have been closed due to orders or seen at least a 30 percent drop in business. The legislation also requires landlords to work out a rent payment plan with these tenants.

The repayment plans must not require more than 1/3 of the late rent to be paid, all late rent must be repaid within a year of the end of the civil emergency, and there can be no late fees, interest, or other charges added to the late rent payments.

Council Bill 119766 is sponsored by Councilmembers Lisa Herbold and Tammy Morales.

“The City must do everything it can to give beloved small businesses and essential nonprofits a fighting chance,” Herbold said.

5:30pm – Gov. Inslee issued a proclamation Monday to provide protection for high-risk workers against losing their employment status or income due to COVID-19. The protections include the choice of an alternative work assignment and the ability to use any accrued leave or unemployment benefits. Employers are also prohibited from permanently replacing employees who are at high-risk of illness.

The high-risk population includes people 65 years or older and anyone with underlying medical conditions. Read the governor’s proclamation here.

5:22pm – The University of Washington’s Class of 2020 has started a petition asking university president Ana Mari Cauce to delay this year’s commencement ceremony rather than holding a virtual ceremony. The petition has nearly 10,000 signatures, and references other universities, including UCLA, WSU, and Seattle U, that have already postponed their graduation ceremonies.

“We propose that the traditional Commencement weekend take place at a later date, preferably between mid-August and mid-September if the global COVID-19 pandemic has reached a state deemed safe for a gathering of this size,” reads the UW petition. View the petition here.

4:39pm – Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are among 46 Senate Democrats calling on the Coronavirus Task Force and FEMA to conduct a national inventory on COVID-19 diagnostic testing supply, to publicly release data on testing results, and to conduct provide a plan and timeline for addressing future shortages and gaps in the testing supply chain.

“Over three weeks after President Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency, we continue to hear from our states and Tribal Nations about the lack of supplies and testing kits to diagnose our constituents for the coronavirus,” the senators wrote. “State departments of health, hospitals, health care providers, and first responders lack the tests and equipment—including personal protective equipment (PPE), testing swabs, and reagents—needed to conduct adequate public health surveillance to contain and stop the spread of coronavirus.”

3:55pm – The Kirkland Small Business Relief Fund says it has mailed out $1,000 grants to 250 different small businesses and small nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. The fund, created by the City of Kirkland, the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce, and the Kirkland branch of Banner Bank, received initial seed money of $250,000 from Google’s philanthropic arm.

3:34pm – In response to an order from the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee and Stephen Sinclair, secretary of the state Department of Corrections, provided a report detailing the steps taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19 among the incarcerated population. The next steps include a plan for the early release of up to 950 nonviolent offenders. Read more.

3:21pm – Americans are beginning to see the first economic impact payments hit their bank accounts. The exact timing of when people get their money depends on a few factors, such as income and payment delivery method.

Any adult earning up to $75,000 in adjusted gross income who has a valid Social Security number will receive a $1,200 payment. Here’s what you should know.

2:55pm – The University of Washington’s Virology lab says it’s tested 63,388 people so far. On Sunday alone, they tested 829 samples, with a 10.6% positivity rate.

2:20pm – Health officials in Pierce County have reported 41 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 969. That said, they’ve reassigned several prior cases to other counties. The county says 20 people have died from the virus.

In Snohomish County, there are 1,907 positive cases and 73 people have died. In Everett, 558 people have tested positive. In Lynnwood, 334 people have tested positive.

1:38pm – Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced on Monday initial 250 grantees of the Seattle’s $2.5 million Small Business Stabilization Fund. This was the fund that provides $10,000 to small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The Office of Economic Development said it has already received 9,000 applications. The city said that number indicates that the city will need help from the private sector, philanthropic partners, and federal government. Comcast has said the company is donating $50,000 to the fund.

The OED has created a resource page for small businesses to help navigate grants and other assistance.

12:34pm – Following a court order for Washington prisons to immediately protect their inmate populations from coronavirus, Gov. Jay Inslee has announced a plan to accomplish that goal.

Inslee plays to reduce the state’s prison population by “up to 950 people,” granting early releases to non-violent, low-level offenders.

12:16pm – Washington, California, and Oregon are officially unifying their collective coronavirus responses, with Governors Jay Inslee, Kate Brown, and Gavin Newsom announcing a tri-state pact Monday.

The partnership will look to implement a shared approach on when and how the three states will re-open their respective economies and relax social distancing measures.

You can read a full release from the governors here.

11:54am – Seattle-King County Public Health published an update on new research that confirms the correlation between reductions in mobility and social distancing measures, lending credence to the fact that residents are doing a good job staying home.

“This analysis reinforces other recent studies that show people in our community are heeding public health directives to stay home and the spread of COVID-19 is slowing,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “But before we can feel comfortable relaxing social distancing measures, we need to further decrease transmission and have widespread testing availability and public health systems in place to quickly identify people who are infected and their close contacts to help them isolate and quarantine.”

11:08am – Looking to up your gardening game while we’re all stuck indoors? The Northwest’s own Ciscoe Morris has some tips for anyone looking to dive in. Read more. 

10:19am – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is donating almost 400 N95 masks to frontline health care workers and first responders, taken from the office’s “emergency supply barrels.”

9:40am – The Northwest Healthcare Response Network is delivering a briefing to Seattle City Council on its work to deal with potential surges in the need for resources, and response to any emergency or disaster in the region.

The briefing will run until 10:15 a.m. — you can tune in live here.

9:25am – In a bid to meet ongoing demand, Amazon is looking to hire 75,000 more employees in the weeks ahead.

“We continue to see increased demand as our teams support their communities, and are going to continue to hire, creating an additional 75,000 jobs to help serve customers during this unprecedented time,” Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations and customer service, said in a Monday post to the company blog.

9:04am – The Washington National Guard has been working in the state during the coronavirus crisis to provide aid to local food banks.

In that time, they’ve packed over 1.1 million pounds of food and served almost 155,000 meals.

7:49am – Questions surrounding the reopening of the U.S. continue to circulate, with CDC head Dr. Robert Redfield speaking with The Today Show to shed some light.

“Reopening the US will be a careful, data-driven, county-by-county approach,” he described, estimating that the U.S. is “nearing its peak” in the number of daily infections. “We have to substantially enhance our public health capacity to do early case identification, isolation and contact tracing.”

7:15am – While there has been a surge in burglaries in certain parts of Seattle, crime statistics are low overall right now.

Seattle and King County law enforcement say that shoplifting, general theft, and car prowls are way down.

From early to mid-March, Seattle police say crime reports decreased 30% from the same two week period last year.

SPD spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says “this is not surprising, considering the reduction of people out and about.”

6:37am – After initially indicating that it would be shutting down its Puget Sound production operations indefinitely, Boeing is reopening at least partially starting Monday. Read more. 

5:59am – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, stated Sunday that he believes parts of the U.S. could potentially go through a “rolling reentry” as early as May.

He also noted that he “can’t guarantee” that Americans voting in person in November will be safe, thanks to the ongoing risk presented by not having a vaccine for the virus.

5:22am – Gov. Jay Inslee pointed to recent data over the weekend, that indicates Washington is “starting to bend the curve.”

Even so, the state Department of Health continues to urge the public that social distancing measures must remain in the place.

“We must keep it up to save lives,” the DOH said on Twitter over the weekend.

It also posted a graph demonstrating the difference in cases should social distancing be relaxed or continued. If Washington had relaxed those measures on April 10, the state would be experiencing as many as 15 deaths a day by July 1. With measures in place at least through April 22, that number would drop to 5 a day by that same date.

That being so, Gov. Inslee also emphasized that even two weeks from now would likely be too early to stop social distancing across Washington if the state is to avoid a rebound in cases.

Find past updates:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

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