Coronavirus daily news updates, April 28: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the nation

The Treasury Department is frantically trying to figure out how to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars from big companies that applied for loans and received them under the program’s initial terms.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made another attempt Tuesday to deal with problems largely of his own making, as he tried to quickly funnel billions of dollars to businesses with vague guidelines. Threatening to hold big companies criminally liable if they did not meet the program’s revised criteria for accepting loans, he said the administration would audit any company that received more than $2 million.

The Los Angeles Lakers franchise is the latest example of a large company that managed to qualify for small-business loans from a hastily devised government program intended to help barbershops, restaurants, dry cleaners and other mom-and-pop shops.

“I never expected in a million years that the Los Angeles Lakers, which I’m a big fan of the team, but I’m not a big fan of the fact that they took a $4.6 million loan,” Mnuchin said on CNBC. “I think that’s outrageous.”

Read the full story here.

An industry group representing the state’s hospitals is urging Gov. Jay Inslee to allow more elective health care procedures to resume, saying their facilities have plenty of capacity amid a decline in COVID-19 patients.

According to association surveys, the statewide average for hospital capacity is at 70%. Cassie Sauer, the chief executive officer of the Washington State Hospital Association, said she is concerned about the toll on patients from delayed cancer screenings and a wide range of other procedures, as well as the financial hit on hospitals from reduced revenues.

Inslee on Monday said his administration was working on a “hospital-specific” plan that would allow some elective surgeries to move forward if hospitals could demonstrate they had enough personal protective equipment, adding that it would be good “from the revenue standpoint for hospitals and also for people who like to get their joints fixed.”

Read the full story here.

The Snohomish Health District will begin conducting drive-thru coronavirus tests in Lynnwood on Wednesday and Friday by appointment, according to a statement from the department.

Officials will test people in the back parking lot at the health department's south county office at 6101 200th St. Southwest, according to the statement. Appointments are available from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including a fever, cough, difficulty breathing or chills, is eligible to register for a test, the statement said. The health department's website has more details about how to sign up.

The Snohomish Health District is also working on plans for smaller, more mobile testing locations to open in May, the statement said.

For a list of more testing sites in King and Snohomish counties, click here.

The Port of Seattle Commission took initial steps Tuesday to scale down spending through the rest of 2020, while backing measures to protect laid-off workers and small businesses at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Acknowledging that the coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on projected revenue, commissioners shaved nearly $70 million from the Port’s 2020 budget, including by postponing the controversial $100 million redevelopment of a downtown pier into a cruise terminal while the industry is in turmoil.

Airport dining and retail tenants, heavily reliant on foot traffic through the airport, have taken a heavy blow. Sixty-two of the 89 shops and restaurants at Sea-Tac have temporarily closed, said executive director Steve Metruck.

The Port will offer two more months of rent deferral to those tenants, in addition to the two months announced in March, Metruck said. Airlines will also be able to defer rents and fees for two months.

Sea-Tac business owners said the deferral didn’t go far enough.

Read the full story here.

Seattle entrepreneur and scientist Johnny Stine started his small biotech company more than a decade ago with a reputation as a bit of a maverick.

But last week, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson told Stine in a cease-and-desist letter he’d gone too far out on a limb by claiming on Facebook he’d developed a vaccine for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Stine said in his post his vaccine rendered him “immune” to the illness and that he’d be willing to sell it to the first 100 responders for $400 apiece.

The warning comes amid a growing crackdown nationwide by government agencies against companies and individuals offering purported COVID-19 treatments, cures and vaccines.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) emailed warning letters this month to a plethora of such companies, including Absolute Health Clinic in Olympia, for claiming on its website that high-dose Vitamin C and D therapies could “have significant impact’’ on the coronavirus.

Read the full story here.

Even for Tom Murphy, a man who lives to lift weights and train in a maniacal fashion, there is only so much working out you can do in a day without a way to test the results.

The Mariners catcher works out daily, using his home “gym” that includes a small set of Olympic weights and some dumbbells. He also does workouts outside with medicine balls, resistance bands and other equipment. He shares those workouts for others on Instagram. As for baseball activity, he’s limited to taking swings off a tee into a net.

Usually during offseason training there are set dates to build toward, for spring training and the season. With baseball shut down, those set dates are unknown.

Murphy was supposed to be a month into an important season, his first as the Mariners’ main catcher. Instead, he waits in a sort of baseball purgatory.

Read the full story here.

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.

OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee could announce an extension of his statewide coronavirus stay-at-home order later this week, according to his chief of staff.

The order — which shut thousands of businesses to slow the outbreak of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus — is currently scheduled to lift at the end of the day on May 4. But the governor has said parts of it would continue for longer.

Inslee chief of staff David Postman's remarks come as state health officials try to prepare for a reopening by expanding testing and increasing the number of people who can trace the contacts an infected person has had in order to limit potential flare-ups of the virus.

Read the full story here.

The number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS Kidd rose to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port at San Diego on Tuesday to get medical care for the crew and to disinfect and decontaminate the ship.

The Kidd is the second Navy ship to have an outbreak of the disease while at sea, the other being the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier that has been docked at Guam for a month.

The Navy said that 63% of the Kidd’s crew of more than 300 had been tested as of Tuesday. One sailor was medically evacuated to the United States on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms.

Rocco Ursino loved being Italian.

Whenever he felt blue, he’d strap on an apron and make spaghetti sauce. There was a freezer full of it in the garage. When friends came for dinner, they left with spaghetti sauce. When they dropped in or came for coffee, they left with spaghetti sauce. When they helped him fix his car, they left with spaghetti sauce.

When, late in life, he lived in a senior-living facility, he organized dinners to welcome new people moving in. Within a year he knew every one of the 200 or so other residents by name.

Mr. Ursino died on March 26 from complications of COVID-19. He was 90.

Read the full story here.

JetBlue will require passengers to wear face coverings starting next week, becoming the first major American airline to compel its customers to cover their noses and mouths since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

The policy, which takes effect Monday, covers the duration of a passenger’s flight, from check-in through boarding and deplaning, the airline said.

The company said it would remind passengers of the new policy before their flight by email and through announcements and signage at airports. Small children who are not able to wear a face covering are exempt from the requirement, the airline said.

HAVELOCK NORTH, New Zealand — After 33 days without swimming or surfing, their favorite “flat white” coffees or fish and chips, New Zealanders emerged from strict lockdown Tuesday, when businesses were allowed to reopen if they could operate in a contactless way.

But socializing remains limited, as this country of five million people tries to capitalize on its scorched-earth approach to fighting the coronavirus.

“We are not out of the woods,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said as the country ticked down a notch to Level 3 restrictions.

Read the full article here.

The Washington State Department of Health confirmed Tuesday an additional 156 cases and 21 deaths from COVID-19.

The newly released numbers bring the state's totals to 13,842 cases and 786 deaths.

So far, 182,515 tests for the illness have been conducted in Washington, according to the state. Of those, 92% have come back negative.

The bulk of the cases remain in King County, with 6,001 positive test results and 429 deaths, accounting for 54.6% of the state's death toll. New deaths were also reported in Asotin, Benton, Franklin, Grant, Pierce, Skagit and Snohomish counties.

Like many farmers and ranchers in Idaho, Ryan Cranney began feeling the effects of COVID-19’s disruption in the restaurant supply chain in mid-March. What was supposed to be a good year for Cranney Farms’ crops quickly turned into a surplus he couldn’t sell.

That is when he took to Facebook and put out a call for anyone to come get those surplus potatoes — for free. The move resulted in national attention and the arrival of hundreds of people at his farm.

Read full article here.

Bellevue police officers are expanding their toolset to catch, cite and slow high-speed drivers.

Working with the Bellevue Transportation Department, police officers will install three radar feedback boards that display the speed a driver is traveling and one message board reminding drivers to slow down throughout high-traffic areas in the city.

Those areas include 148th Avenue Southeast, Bellevue Way, Northeast Eighth Street and Southeast Allen Road, said Bellevue police spokesperson Meeghan Black. Placement of the signs will rotate in response to community feedback and areas where officers notice a need.

Police will also be monitoring those areas and issuing tickets to people who are speeding excessively, driving distracted or under the influence of alcohol, or fail to yield for pedestrians.

“People need to slow down,” said Capt. Joe Nault, in the news release. “Just like social distancing saves lives, so does slowing down and obeying traffic laws.”

Officers have pulled over drivers who are taking advantage of less traffic congestion amid Washington’s stay-at-home order and speeding up to 30 mph over the limit, she said.

A Bellevue police officer issued a $553 citation to a driver traveling 60 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Police will wear personal protective equipment with every stop and exercise social distancing measures. When feasible, officers will mail infractions.

Officials from Public Health - Seattle & King County confirmed Tuesday that there have been 173 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in county homeless shelters or supportive housing for people formerly homeless — a total of 36 sites. This number includes positive cases among staff of these facilities.

The first four cases among this population were reported a month ago.

Six residents have died in those locations, although with the exception of one death, they were all in supportive housing for people who are no longer homeless. Two of the deaths were in shared housing run by Operation Nightwatch, where eight cases have now been reported. According to the Rev. Rick Reynolds, who runs Operation Nightwatch and says he has contracted COVID-19 himself, there are 24 units in the shared-housing complex.

One of the deaths and 37 of the cases were isolated or not assigned to any one location. As of publication, public health spokespeople had not yet responded to a request for more information about those cases.

The location with the most associated cases is Catholic Community Services’ Lazarus Center, a South Seattle shelter with 32 confirmed cases which, according to the organization’s website, sheltered around 50 before COVID-19 forced the center to move clients to other shelters.

Some city council members from Washington cities are calling on the state Legislature to hold a special session and cancel rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic.

Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales hosted an online news conference Tuesday with select council members from Burien, Bellingham, Redmond and Spokane, and with a Seattle Public Schools board member. Their constituents are struggling to deal with job losses and other challenges resulting from the pandemic, the participants said, urging the Legislature to reconvene June 1 to take more action to help renters and property owners.

Washington lawmakers should move to cancel rent payments statewide and declare support for a U.S. House bill co-sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, that would cancel rent and mortgage payments across the country, Morales and the other participants said.

Jayapal’s bill would establish a relief fund to compensate landlords and mortgage holders to cover losses. The state also could establish such a fund, said Morales, who was joined by Krystal Marx of Burien, Daniel Hammill and Hollie Huthman of Bellingham, Varisha Khan of Redmond, Kate Burke of Spokane and Brandon Hersey of the Seattle School Board.

The Legislature also should extend Gov. Jay Inslee’s current ban on rent increases for six months after Washington’s declared emergency period ends, the news conference participants said. They said Inslee’s current moratorium on evictions is inadequate and said cities are ill-equipped to help renters and homeowners, compared with the state. Hersey said children need secure housing so they can concentrate on education. The Seattle council passed a non-binding resolution last month asking for rent and mortgage payments to be canceled.

“This economic crisis isn’t just looming. It’s here,” said Morales, arguing for “radical change.”

Also Tuesday, some Seattle landlords held an online town hall about their business during the pandemic. They expressed concern about legislation proposed by City Councilmember  Lorena González that would allow renters to use coronavirus problems as a defense in eviction court for six months after Seattle’s declared emergency ends.

They also criticized Councilmember Kshama Sawant for championing rent strikes, making the case that small-time landlords need rental income to pay their own bills.

“We’re part of the housing solution,” said Jeffery Cook, who rents a house with his husband to service-industry workers. “Where’s the support network for landlords?”

Vice President Mike Pence did not wear a face mask during a Tuesday tour of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The medical center's policy requires wearing a mask.

Pence met with a Mayo Clinic employee who has recovered from COVID-19 and was donating plasma. Everyone else photographed in the room wore a mask. Pence was the only person not wearing a mask during several other portions of the tour, including a roundtable discussion with other top officials, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Sound Publishing has laid off 20% of its staffers in Washington and Alaska, the Everett Herald reports.

Advertising revenues are down for many local news publishers as the economy falters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a second round of cuts, 70 workers lost jobs at Sound Publishing last week, the Herald reports.

At the beginning of the year, Sound Publishing had 350 employees across 43 newspapers in Washington and three in Alaska.

Even with interest in news about COVID-19 rises, few news publications in Washington have remained unscathed.

Adams Publishing Group, which owns nine Washington papers, including dailies The Skagit Valley Herald and The Ellensburg Daily Record, reduced workers to 30 hours per week in March.

Seattle Met magazine in March made its eight editorial staff part-time.

A Seattle alt-weekly, The Stranger, laid off 18 employees, including six reporters and editors in mid-March.

The Seattle Times Co. received a $9.9 million federal coronavirus-aid loan through the Payroll Protection Program to continue paying its staff.

The New York Times estimates that nationwide, 36,000 news media employees have been laid off, furloughed or taken pay cuts since the pandemic began.

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus.

The order will use the Defense Production Act to classify meat processing as critical infrastructure to keep production plants open.

The order comes after industry leaders warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days after workers at major facilities tested positive for the virus. A senior White House official said the administration was working to prevent a situation in which a majority of processing plants shut down for a period of time, which could lead to an 80% drop in the availability of meat in supermarkets. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the order before its release.

Trump on Tuesday told reporters that “there’s plenty of supply,” but that supply chains had hit what he called a “road block. It’s sort of a legal roadblock more than anything else,” he said.

Read more here.

The Cascade Bicycle Club has officially canceled most of its 2020 riding events, including the signature Seattle to Portland ride.

In an email to members sent this week, the organization said it "could not be more disappointed in this decision, but we know that it is the right one for our community, our partners, and our staff."

The announcement went on to say, "The only events currently moving forward as planned are our June 19 Bike Everywhere Day, the annual Summit in September and the Chelan Tour Lite in October."

For information on how to request refunds, which must be filed by May 15, see the cancellation announcement here.

Doctors in Britain, Italy, and Spain have been warned to look out for a rare inflammatory condition in children that is possibly linked to the new coronavirus.

Earlier this week, Britain’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued an alert to doctors noting that, in the past three weeks, there has been an increase in the number of children with “a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care” across the country. The group said there was “growing concern” that either a COVID-19 related syndrome was emerging in children or that a different, unidentified disease might be responsible.

“We already know that a very small number of children can become severely ill with COVID-19 but this is very rare,” said Dr. Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He said the syndrome was likely caused by an overreaction of the body’s immune system and noted similar symptoms had been seen in some adults infected with the coronavirus.

The cases were also reported to have features of toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease, a rare blood-vessel disorder. Only some of the children tested positive for COVID-19, so scientists are unsure if these rare symptoms are caused by the new coronavirus or by something else. Health officials estimate there have been about 10-20 such cases in Britain and NHS England said it is urgently investigating the reports.

Read more here.

Having trouble getting information from the Internal Revenue Service on the payment status of your coronavirus stimulus check?  Try entering your street address in all caps.

Yes, it really works.

The IRS website had a big update this week, so it’s possible the site only just ported over your information and will let you log in now without having to shout at it, according to the Los Angeles Times, so you’re welcome to try typing out your street address the normal way. But if that doesn’t work, don’t despair: Many people have found that entering their street address in all capital letters was the key to getting in and being able to enter their bank account information in order to have their stimulus funds deposited electronically instead of waiting for a check in the mail.

There is a technological reason for this involving knowledge of arcane programming and the federal government’s aversion to investing in resolving its tech debt, but never mind that, it's a hack that's working for thousands.

Read more here.

Spokane’s Whitworth University is the second Eastern Washington university to announce that it will teach classes in person starting in the fall.

Last week, Washington State University President Kirk Schulz said in a tweet that WSU would return to in-person instruction fall term, although the school has not announced further details.

In a message addressed to the Whitworth campus on Tuesday, President Beck Taylor noted that “in most jurisdictions, and certainly in Eastern Washington, the rates of infection and hospitalization are flattening ... the signs are positive.”

Whitworth plans to begin fall semester with residence halls open and classes taught on campus, but Taylor also said that “returning to a full state of normality may not be possible.”

Many colleges and universities across the nation haven’t yet decided whether classes will resume this fall.

In a message to campus last week, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce said she was putting together two task forces “to outline when and how more UW employees can safely return to our campuses and to prepare for how students may come back to our campuses for autumn quarter.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education is keeping a running list of colleges’ plans to reopen for in-person classes. According to the list, the University of Oregon is aiming for in-person instruction but says the fall quarter likely won’t look like last year’s.

The University of Portland may adjust its academic calendar and conduct some or all instruction online. Stanford University may delay the fall quarter until winter, and the University of Colorado at Boulder is leaning toward a hybrid plan.

UW Medicine staffers now must wear masks at all times when at clinical sites. Requiring masks will reduce the spread of COVID-19, and in particular, transmission involving those infected with the disease but not showing symptoms, said a news release from the health-care system.

UW Medicine anticipates physical distancing measures loosening over the next month and for more patients to be visiting its clinics.

"As we start to welcome more patients back into our clinics, we are feeling like this is the best way to keep our patients and our staff absolutely safe," said Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics, in the news release.

Until April 1, UW Medicine was asking employees to avoid wearing masks unless they were interacting with patients known to have COVID-19. The health-care system then changed its policy to allow masks, but asked employees to ration.

UW Medicine facilities in April saw several instances where employees or patients likely became infected with COVID-19 in the hospital setting.

At UW Medical Center - Northwest, the health-care system reported an outbreak of COVID-19 identified among 14 staffers, many working in the same medical surgical unit.

A Harborview Medical Center patient likely became infected with COVID-19 while visiting the facility for a surgical procedure in early April. The hospital determined that patient had interacted with a staffer who had acquired the infection.

Some Washington state parks and public lands will reopen for day use and hunting, fishing, and golf can resume, on Tuesday, May 5.

But as hikers lace up their boots and mountain bikers pump up their tires, this early experiment with resuming everyday activities in the midst of a pandemic will look and feel different.

For starters, don’t expect to roast s’mores over a fire or compete in a trail-running race as outdoor events and camping remain prohibited.

The good news, according to Jill Simmons, director of the Washington Trails Association, is that we have a much better understanding of the importance of social distancing and what that looks like.

Expect to see downhill hikers stepping aside — when it’s safe to do so without trampling fragile vegetation — to allow uphill hikers to pass at a 6-foot distance and for hikers to pull bandannas over their faces when passing.

Above all, Simmons said, communication is key. Now more than ever, verbally signal to another party how you intend to pass on the trail.

Read more here.

Need an escape? Travel back into American history with these six books, which offer lessons on leadership in frightening times. Or solve your stay-home boredom with three new crime novels.

Homemade buttercream is the stuff of dreams. Our favorite eighth-grade chef, Sadie Davis-Suskind, shares recipes for two types, perfect for icing that vanilla cake she told us how to make last week.

Gov. Jay Inslee yesterday described a partial reopening of outdoor recreation but said many of the state's coronavirus-related restrictions will stay in place beyond May 4, when his stay-home order is set to expire.

If you're taking advantage of the new freedoms, you'll still have to observe social-distancing measures. Here's what you will and won't be allowed to do, some things to keep in mind as you venture back to the great outdoors, and a breakdown of the guidelines for golf.

Seniors are isolated, but they aren't alone, thanks to two siblings who attend Seattle's Garfield High School. Dylan and Eva Stepherson are creating and donating hundreds of care packages for vulnerable people, full of face masks, basic food — and a bit of chocolate. Seattle Sketcher takes a look at their kindhearted mission.

The CDC has confirmed six new coronavirus symptoms that keep showing up. And older people may have none of the typical symptoms but show very different ones, doctors say.

Widespread testing is seen as crucial to ending stay-home orders. How will it happen? Pressure is mounting on the president, who yesterday issued guidance that left states in charge.

Boeing is likely to feel the pandemic's effects through 2023 and beyond, its CEO told shareholders yesterday as he offered an indirect glimpse at the sweep of the cuts ahead. Boeing also told workers what it’s offering to those willing to take a voluntary layoff.

Banks have temporarily closed scores of Seattle-area branches to minimize in-person interactions. Will customers come back, or keep banking online? It's "a bit of an experiment."

Students' desks should be six feet apart and restaurants should consider disposable plates, according to a draft of the CDC's new guidance on how states should ease restrictions. President Donald Trump yesterday drew skepticism when he told governors to "seriously consider" reopening schools before the end of the academic year.

In the race for a vaccine, Oxford University scientists are leaping ahead. They're testing their creation on 6,000 people by the end of next month, and hoping to make the first doses available by September.

The way these tests were done "put us all at risk": Workers exposed to coronavirus are describing how they had to jam into a crowded hallway at Western State Hospital in Lakewood to be tested by people without gloves. It's another example of the state's failure to protect staff and patients there, workers say.

Meat won't vanish from supermarkets. But virus outbreaks at meat plants mean store shelves — and price tags — may soon look different.

Looking for ways to help others during the crisis? Whether you're able to donate time or money, here are tips on where to start.