10 big pieces of good news for Seattle in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

A flag that reads “#We Got This Seattle” flies on the Space Needle. Keep clicking for all the good news coming out of Seattle in the midst of the novel coronavirus.
Ted S. Warren / Associated Press

1. The numbers are looking just a little better than they were.Last week, Seattle saw a speckle of hope that our containment and social distancing strategies were paying off for now. Studies show deaths are not rising as fast as they are in other states as people remain at home. While each infected person was spreading the virus to an average of 2.7 other people in early March, the number appears to have dropped to 1.4, according researchers at the Institute for Disease Modeling based in Bellevue. “We made a huge impact — we slowed the transmission,” mayor Durkan told the New York Times. Yet, she has cautioned that any lifting of restrictions would bring a quick rise in new cases, and that she expected distancing requirements to continue in some form for months. Governor Inslee has highlighted similar constructs. “It would be grossly irresponsible to stop these measures now,” he told reporters. — **1. The numbers are looking just a little better than they were.**
Last week, Seattle saw a speckle of hope that our containment and social distancing strategies were paying off for now. Studies show deaths are not rising as fast as they are in other states as people remain at home. While each infected person was spreading the virus to an average of 2.7 other people in early March, the number appears to have dropped to 1.4, according researchers at the Institute for Disease Modeling based in Bellevue. “We made a huge impact — we slowed the transmission,” mayor Durkan told the New York Times. Yet, she has cautioned that any lifting of restrictions would bring a quick rise in new cases, and that she expected distancing requirements to continue in some form for months. Governor Inslee has highlighted similar constructs. “It would be grossly irresponsible to stop these measures now,” he told reporters.
Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

7. Stores and businesses across the Seattle area are also hard at work to help those in need. While Starbucks is providing free coffee to those on the front lines, Safeway and Albertsons stores throughout Washington have launched a checkstand fundraiser to help get food to those in need. Through the fundraiser, the company is supporting Northwest Harvest, which will help seniors who are more vulnerable to the spread of the virus to safely get access to food and provide assistance to people who have lost their jobs and incomes. The fundraiser will increase delivery of "emergency food boxes" to those in need and help get more households vouchers and gift cards to buy groceries and other items. The funds will also be used to help more families enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In an effort to increase accessibility to COVID-19 testing in Seattle, Amazon is using its internal medical branch, Amazon Care, and delivery network to distribute and pickup at-home testing kits in the city. For this public health initiative, Amazon Care's services will be available to the public as part of a research effort backed by the Gates Foundation, of which has planned to donate $3.7 million to support various response... — **7. Stores and businesses across the Seattle area are also hard at work to help those in need.**
While Starbucks is providing free coffee to those on the front lines, Safeway and Albertsons stores throughout Washington have launched a checkstand fundraiser to help get food to those in need. Through the fundraiser, the company is supporting Northwest Harvest, which will help seniors who are more vulnerable to the spread of the virus to safely get access to food and provide assistance to people who have lost their jobs and incomes. The fundraiser will increase delivery of "emergency food boxes" to those in need and help get more households vouchers and gift cards to buy groceries and other items. The funds will also be used to help more families enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In an effort to increase accessibility to COVID-19 testing in Seattle, Amazon is using its internal medical branch, Amazon Care, and delivery network to distribute and pickup at-home testing kits in the city. For this public health initiative, Amazon Care's services will be available to the public as part of a research effort backed by the Gates Foundation, of which has planned to donate $3.7 million to support various response...
Julie Clopper // Shutterstock

9. Big businesses are hiring thousands of employees and doling out pay boosts for those working in the midst of the novel coronavirus.Amazon, the nation’s second-largest U.S.-based employer next to Walmart, is working to hire 100,000 employees “to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public,” said Amazon executive Dave Clark in a blog post. A provisional $2/hour raise through the end of April has also been implemented for all hourly employees. All in all, the company will invest more than $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home. — **9. Big businesses are hiring thousands of employees and doling out pay boosts for those working in the midst of the novel coronavirus.**
Amazon, the nation’s second-largest U.S.-based employer next to Walmart, is working to hire 100,000 employees “to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public,” said Amazon executive Dave Clark in a blog post. A provisional $2/hour raise through the end of April has also been implemented for all hourly employees. All in all, the company will invest more than $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home.
Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press

10. Despite having the reputation as one of the country's most congested cities, Seattle is currently seeing unprecedented drops in number of car accidents.As more and more citizens heed the warnings of Governor Jay Inslee, the roadways are quieting. A new study from Seattle's Davis Law Group analyzed the data from Washington State Patrol for the same recent five-day work week in 2020 compared to 2019 (March 16-20, 2020 and March 18-22, 2019). The study found that during the week in 2019, there were 327 accidents in Seattle, but this year in 2020, there were only 78 car accidents reported -- a 76% reduction. When looking at the data from the same time periods across all of King County, there was a 75% reduction in automobile crashes. The entire state of Washington saw a 67% decrease in automobile collisions during that third week of March, and the number of crashes on Interstate 90 fell a staggering 81%. — **10. Despite having the reputation as one of the country's most congested cities, Seattle is currently seeing unprecedented drops in number of car accidents.**
As more and more citizens heed the warnings of Governor Jay Inslee, the roadways are quieting. A new study from Seattle's Davis Law Group analyzed the data from Washington State Patrol for the same recent five-day work week in 2020 compared to 2019 (March 16-20, 2020 and March 18-22, 2019). The study found that during the week in 2019, there were 327 accidents in Seattle, but this year in 2020, there were only 78 car accidents reported -- a 76% reduction. When looking at the data from the same time periods across all of King County, there was a 75% reduction in automobile crashes. The entire state of Washington saw a 67% decrease in automobile collisions during that third week of March, and the number of crashes on Interstate 90 fell a staggering 81%.
Aaron Eakin/Getty Images

For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Article continues below this ad

Washington has been through the wringer; Seattle has seen times of stress. In the midst of the novel coronavirus, a handful of worrisome headlines across the globe have called attention to the Evergreen state and Emerald City in its efforts to combat the community impacts of the virus.

Yet, there are also a multiplicity of happier headlines spreading throughout the city and state.

From restaurants turning into relief centers, to response funds donating millions and numbers that could prove optimistic, we’re seeking the silver lining in this roundup of good news across Seattle and Washington state.

Article continues below this ad

Read on and click through the slideshow above for all the good news worth catching up on, as slight pastel hues of positivity linger in an uncertain horizon.

1. The numbers are looking just a little better than they were.
Last week, Seattle saw a speckle of hope that our containment and social distancing strategies were paying off for now. Studies show deaths are not rising as fast as they are in other states as people remain at home. While each infected person was spreading the virus to an average of 2.7 other people in early March, the number appears to have dropped to 1.4, according researchers at the Institute for Disease Modeling based in Bellevue. “We made a huge impact — we slowed the transmission,” mayor Durkan told the New York Times. Yet, she has cautioned that any lifting of restrictions would bring a quick rise in new cases, and that she expected distancing requirements to continue in some form for months.

Governor Inslee has highlighted similar constructs. “It would be grossly irresponsible to stop these measures now,” he told reporters.

According to the New York Times "Coronavirus Deaths by U.S. State and Country Over Time: Daily Tracker" the death toll has been doubling about every eight days in Washington, compared with every two or three days in New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Louisiana.

Article continues below this ad

Additionally, hospitalizations for patients with symptoms of the novel coronavirus declined last week by more than 20%, according to the state Department of Health. While Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, a health officer for Seattle and King County Public Health, has offered optimism, he also issued words of warning. “We believe that we’re making a very positive impact on the course of this epidemic,” Duchin told reporters. “That the measures we put in place appear to be working...the number of deaths that we are seeing are likely to be significantly less than we would have experienced without these important measures. If we don’t continue to comply with these measures...I can tell you that the outbreak will come roaring back, big time.”

2. We are freeing up space around Seattle so hospitals do not fall short of supplies or become overrun.
While social distancing has helped keep hospitals from becoming overrun, the Army has also deployed 300 soldiers to staff a field hospital at Seattle’s CenturyLink Field according to a report on the U.S. Department of Defense website.

3. A handful of restaurant relief programs have been put in place to help those who have lost their jobs or seen significantly reduced hours.
A multiplicity of restaurants have stepped up to help those who may have lost their jobs or been impacted by the community effects of the novel coronavirus, which has shuttered many small businesses across the Emerald City. The owner of Piroshky Piroshky has developed a free online delivery site for local businesses; Salare has completely shifted into a relief center for restaurant workers to pick up free meals and supplies; the Intentionalist has developed a gift card marketplace for restaurants to source income for the time being; and independent GoFundMe’s have raised over $150,000 to support the Seattle hospitality industry.

4. A handful of community relief programs have also been put in place to help those in need.
In a bold move, Vulcan Real Estate announced it will not collect rent from small businesses and nonprofits in April.

Article continues below this ad

Additionally, Amazon and catering boxed lunch service Gourmondo have partnered up alongside King County Housing Authority and Seattle Housing Authority to support more than 73,000 meals to those in need, including those elderly and medically-vulnerable residents.

A new Seattle-based company, Weekdays, is also connecting parents in need with urgent childcare services as the COVID-19 outbreak closes schools and business.

As of late, Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund has donated more than $10 million in emergency grants to vulnerable workers and families, and a local initiative by the name of All-In Seattle (comprised of Seattle area residents) launched with more than $27 million in pledged donations from individuals and entities, to local organizations that are directly working with people and businesses affected by the novel coronavirus.

Seattle restaurants have also dipped their toes into the community relief scene, as Musang has converted its kitchen into a community service operation to feed food insecure families, and the Central District’s Soulful Dishes has teamed up with pop-up chef Tarik Abdullah to serve meals to those in need.

Article continues below this ad

5. A whole lot of locals are supplying mass quantities of face masks and hand sanitizer.
The Washington Distillers Guild has partnered with a number of local distilleries to produce thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer to those working on the front lines treating those who have contracted the novel coronavirus.

Under the umbrella of face masks, mom-entrepreneur, Jill Alvis, has taken her sewing talents and creations to put her business on hold and instead create hundreds of masks for healthcare workers. She is one of many crafters, like those of the Crafters Against COVID-19 group producing thousands of masks to those in need. Additionally, a Mukilteo furniture factory has also converted its operations to produce surgical masks and face shields for Providence healthcare workers alongside the Providence 100 Million Mask Challenge, which has quickly seen tens of thousands of volunteers sign up.

Outdoor Research, formally a company cranking out all things outdoor sportswear and gear, recently announced that it will be converting its manufacturing facility in Seattle to make protective masks for frontline medical workers. The company expects to have the capacity to churn our tens of thousands of protective masks. Every day, its facility will be able to produce 140,000 surgical masks, 50,000 N95 respirators, and at least “thousands” of fabric face masks capable of filtering out sub-micron particulates, according to MYNorthwest.

6. Seattle sports have also stepped up to help those in need.
The Seattle Sounders have officially launched a relief effort to help the local community, targeting the individuals, non-profits, and small businesses in the neighborhoods surrounding CenturyLink Field that have been adversely impacted by the postponement of the 2020 MLS season. Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer kickstarted the fund with $500,000.

Article continues below this ad

The Seattle Seahawks also recently announced their plans to support the community amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The franchise and CenturyLink Field have committed more than $700,000 to pay part-time employees who were going to lose wages due to canceled events. The Seahawks are also making an unspecified contribution to the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund. Alongside the Seahawks, ex-Seattle Seahawks star and former NFL defensive end, Cliff Avril, is donating $25,000 through his foundation, The Cliff Avril Family Foundation, and another $25,000 with his wife to support four Seattle-based organizations during the novel coronavirus pandemic: The Boys and Girls Clubs of King County, Communities In Schools (CIS)- Renton-Tacoma, Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic and HealthPoint.

Lastly, the Seattle Mariners developed a fund to support the club’s event staff employees who will lose pay because of the postponed MLB games. The league announced that each of its 30 clubs would be committing $1 million to cover the lost wages of ballpark employees.

7. Stores and businesses across the Seattle area are also hard at work to help those in need.
While Starbucks is providing free coffee to those on the front lines, Safeway and Albertsons stores throughout Washington have launched a checkstand fundraiser to help get food to those in need. Through the fundraiser, the company is supporting Northwest Harvest, which will help seniors who are more vulnerable to the spread of the virus to safely get access to food and provide assistance to people who have lost their jobs and incomes. The fundraiser will increase delivery of "emergency food boxes" to those in need and help get more households vouchers and gift cards to buy groceries and other items. The funds will also be used to help more families enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

In an effort to increase accessibility to COVID-19 testing in Seattle, Amazon is using its internal medical branch, Amazon Care, and delivery network to distribute and pick up at-home testing kits in the city. For this public health initiative, Amazon Care's services will be available to the public as part of a research effort backed by the Gates Foundation, of which has planned to donate $3.7 million to support various response efforts to the novel coronavirus pandemic in the greater Seattle area.

Article continues below this ad

8. A whole lot of effort is underway in the Seattle area for a treatment to the novel coronavirus.
A trial of Moderna's vaccine has already kickstarted at Kaiser Permanente under Washington's Health Research Institute in Seattle, of which will hopefully confirm the safety of the vaccine prior to mass production.

Additionally, a Vancouver company, CytoDyn, is looking to help with a drug it originally intended for cancer and HIV. The drug, Leronlimab, is designed to help immune systems but is not officially in production. In fact, it’s still in the testing phase. But now, that drug is also being tested on coronavirus patients, according to KOMO News.

9. Big businesses are hiring thousands of employees and doling out pay boosts for those working in the midst of the novel coronavirus.
Amazon, the nation’s second-largest U.S.-based employer next to Walmart, is working to hire 100,000 employees “to meet the surge in demand from people relying on Amazon’s service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public,” said Amazon executive Dave Clark in a blog post. A provisional $2/hour raise through the end of April has also been implemented for all hourly employees. All in all, the company will invest more than $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., £2/hr in the UK, and approximately €2/hr in many EU countries for employees and partners who are in fulfillment centers, transportation operations, stores or those making deliveries so that others can remain at home.

Groceries like Safeway and Albertson’s have doled up 2,000 immediate job openings in Western Washington, according to a recent press release, “in order to best serve the increasing needs of our communities throughout Puget Sound.” The groceries have also upped pay $2/hour.

Article continues below this ad

Emerald Communities, sponsor of two Washington senior living communities -- Emerald Heights of Redmond, Wash. and Heron’s Key of Gig Harbor, Wash. – has implemented a $5/hour appreciation pay bonus, the equivalent of a 10 to 30 percent increase for the majority of its 403 employees at both communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. All employees will also receive an additional 80 hours of sick time if they receive a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 or need to be quarantined at home.

Companies including Fred Meyer and CVS have announced plans to give bonuses to employees continuing to work amid the COVID-19 outbreak. CVS Health announced it would give bonuses of between $150 to $500 to pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, store associates, managers and other employees who need to be on site at the stores. Any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 or needs to be quarantined due to exposure is also expected to receive 14 days of paid leave. Fred Meyer similarly announced appreciation bonuses for employees who are working during this time. The bonuses, ranging from $150 to $300 will be given to every frontline grocery, supply chain, manufacturing and customer service associate.

10. Despite having the reputation as one of the country's most congested cities, Seattle is currently seeing unprecedented drops in number of car accidents.
As more and more citizens heed the warnings of Governor Jay Inslee, the roadways are quieting. A new study from Seattle's Davis Law Group analyzed the data from Washington State Patrol for the same recent five-day work week in 2020 compared to 2019 (March 16-20, 2020 and March 18-22, 2019). The study found that during the week in 2019, there were 327 accidents in Seattle, but this year in 2020, there were only 78 car accidents reported -- a 76% reduction. When looking at the data from the same time periods across all of King County, there was a 75% reduction in automobile crashes. The entire state of Washington saw a 67% decrease in automobile collisions during that third week of March, and the number of crashes on Interstate 90 fell a staggering 81%.

Have more good news to share? Email christina.ausley@seattlepi.com with tips.

Article continues below this ad

Also see...

Stay positive: Here are 23 pieces of good news regarding COVID-19

Before and after: Photos of an empty Seattle in wake of COVID-19

Washington coronavirus cases: A county-by-county breakdown

Article continues below this ad

10 ways you can help out during Washington's coronavirus outbreak

A comprehensive list of COVID-19 resources for Washington residents

A step-by-step guide to file for unemployment benefits in Washington