Washington could reopen regionally, state health officials say
State health officials said Tuesday they want to see COVID-19 infections decreasing everywhere in the state before the governor eases mitigation strategies, although they also said they are exploring regional approaches to reopening parts of the state.
State Secretary of Health Dr. John Wiesman said health officials are in conversations with Gov. Jay Inslee about what that might look like.
“I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about that in the days to come as we make some further decisions about that,” Wiesman told reporters Tuesday, noting that health departments around the state with lower case counts feel like they have the ability to manage COVID-19 in their districts.
“Some communities feel they are good to handle what they have, so we are seriously giving that consideration,” Wiesman said.
While statewide COVID-19 numbers continue to trend downward and peaks in hospitalizations and new cases reported daily were in late March, the numbers are still not where health officials want.
“What still concerns me is the number of confirmed cases we continue to have reported every day,” State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy told reporters Tuesday.
Washington continues to see 200 to 250 new cases confirmed each day, still a fairly high burden of disease, Lofy said.
Statewide, there are 13,842 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 786 deaths due to the respiratory virus.
Those numbers indicate the cases detected at the state’s current testing levels, which must be ramped up dramatically in order to reopen according to Inslee’s plan.
This past week there was an uptick in state residents tested, but not nearly to the scale for which leaders are planning. Staff from Inslee’s office said the goal is to triple testing capacity.
About 5,000 tests are performed each weekday. The goal is to do between 20,000 and 30,000 per day.
— The Spokesman-Review
Costco to require masks for shoppers to protect against coronavirus
Starting Monday, Costco will require shoppers to wear masks that cover their mouth and nose while in the store, the company announced.
The only exceptions are for children younger than 2 and people who are unable to wear masks or face coverings due to medical conditions.
The wholesale giant also is allowing only two people to enter the store per membership card. In some places, such as El Paso, Texas, and the state of Kentucky, only one person per card will be allowed.
In a message to customers, Costco President Craig Jelinek said the company is making safety adjustments that “are too numerous to list” but include enhanced sanitation, modified hours and plexiglass shields at check stands.
Costco is offering special operating hours for customers age 60 and older to shop and is allowing health care workers and first responders to skip to the front of lines to enter its warehouses.
— The Seattle Times
US economy, in clear sign of recession, shrinks 4.8%
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the broadest measure so far of COVID-19’s economic damage, the government said Wednesday that total U.S. output in the first quarter fell 4.8% — faster than at any time since the Great Recession.
But economists quickly noted that even this decline was likely the tip of the iceberg because the first quarter number included January and February, and reported coronavirus cases did not begin to surge until March. The full dimension of the pandemic’s economic damage will not be visible in the data until the second quarter.
It left little doubt that the nation’s record more than 10 years of economic expansion has come to an abrupt end, with profound political and economic repercussions.
Wednesday’s negative news, coupled with grimmer prospects ahead, pose serious challenges to President Donald Trump’s reelection strategy, which was designed to capitalize on now-vanishing prosperity.
The pandemic also poses problems for Democrats hoping to rely on traditional campaign rallies and other methods of building support.
Two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the gross domestic product — a tally of all goods and services produced in the nation — are usually considered a recession. And the U.S. economy got worse in April as businesses across the nation shut down, millions of workers were laid off, state governments imposed lockdowns, and claims for unemployment benefits skyrocketed.
Economists have projected GDP to crater in the second quarter by an unprecedented 30% or more.
“It’s just the first leg of our journey,” Joel Prakken, chief U.S. economist at IHS Markit, said of Wednesday’s report.
The research firm this week was forecasting a 37% annualized plunge in GDP for the current quarter. The steepest quarterly drop during the Great Recession was 8.4% in early 2009.
“This is going to blow that out of the water,” Prakken said.
In one hopeful sign, he and others said the second quarter could very well turn out to be the bottom for the economy because some states already have begun to allow businesses to reopen, and eased up on lockdowns and restrictions for public gatherings.
— Los Angeles Times
Oprah, Awkwafina and Miley Cyrus sign on for class of 2020 virtual graduation
The class of 2020 will not be able to experience the pomp and circumstance of a traditional graduation ceremony, so Facebook wants to help.
On Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram announced plans to celebrate this year’s graduating class with a streaming event on May 15, featuring Oprah Winfrey as the commencement speaker.
The “#Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020” broadcast will also include messages from Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X and Simone Biles, among others.
Miley Cyrus is also slated to perform her song “The Climb” during the virtual graduation.
As schools remain shut down due to the coronavirus crisis, students have had to navigate new routines that include distance learning and online Advance Placement tests, among other uncertainties, while being forced to forgo standard milestones such as prom and graduation ceremonies.
Facebook also announced a week’s worth of graduation-related programming leading up to its May 15 event, including spotlights on traditional senior experiences such as superlatives and skip day on Instagram, new stickers and themes for Facebook and Instagram stories and resources for those looking to host their own graduation events through Facebook’s Room feature.
“#Graduation2020” will be available to view through Facebook Watch on the Facebook App page in its entirety. Individual segments will also be posted on the official @Instagram account.
— Los Angeles Times
Loggerodeo event is cancelled
SEDRO-WOOLLEY — The 2020 Loggerodeo has been cut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, and with it, the longest-running Fourth of July celebration in the state.
“It was a tough decision,” said Loggerodeo President Dottie Chandler. “We put it off and procrastinated and thought about this and thought about that.
“We weighed the good things with the bad things and while, yes, we all certainly need and could use this over the Fourth of July, with over 10,000 people attending, there is just no way people can social distance. And all it takes is one person to infect a bunch of others. We really had no other choice.”
