Dear Friends:

Happy May! Today’s update includes details on the extension of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order, an end of month case update for King County, a few feel good stories, and more.

Governor Extends Stay Home, Stay Healthy

Today, Governor Inslee officially extended the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order until May 31st, cautioning that restrictions may be necessary beyond that date. He also outlined four phases for lifting restrictions as transmissions decrease, testing capacity grows and contact tracing capability comes online.

Governor Inslee said some businesses may be allowed to reopen before May 31st, with restrictions in place to allow continued social distancing. He also said counties with low incidence of COVID-19 would be able to apply to reopen sooner. The Seattle Times has full coverage and the Governor will also post an update on his Medium page later.



King County End of Month Case Update

As of today, Seattle – King County Public Health was reporting 99 new cases, bringing the total in the County to 6,407. They also reported 3 new deaths, bringing the total to 449. The graphs below help illustrate the trends in King County over the last two months.

COVID-19 Risk Assessment Dashboard

The State has put together a COVID-19 Risk Assessment Dashboard. The dashboard provides a high-level overview of the main data points discussed among state leaders and the level of risk experts perceive around the current numbers and situation. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all COVID-19 related data. However, the dashboard does give us more details on the metrics discussed by Governor Inslee that will be used to determine readiness to proceed safely through a phased reopening.

King County Metro Vanpools for Essential Workers

To support COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, King County Metro is offering essential workers the opportunity to form temporary vanpools with as few as two riders. In support of social distancing, ridership requirements for all Metro Vanpools have been reduced to a minimum of two people for new and existing groups, and Metro is not collecting fares on the service until further notice. Additionally, Metro has designated a limited supply of vans to provide essential workers with a rideshare option where other transit options are unavailable. You can learn more here.

Will Ferrell Seahawks Zoom Meeting

On Thursday, Pete Carroll had Will Ferrell join the Seahawks virtual team meeting, acting as new Tight End Greg Olson. Check out the story and watch the video on KIRO.

Blue Angels and Thunderbirds in New York City

We are used to having the opportunity to see the Blue Angels fly over us every year during Seafair. This week, the Blue Angels, as well as the Thunderbirds, flew over New York City to show support for the city and its essential workers during this crisis. You can check out an extended video of the footage here.

Washington State Case Update

I also wanted to include a case update at the statewide level for reference. There are 14,327 confirmed cases in Washington State, including 814 total deaths. You can view the cases across the state by county here.


While many of the events we enjoy this year have been postponed, one of my favorites is Flag Day. This photo is with Councilmember Rod Dembowski and his 91 years YOUNG father, Korean War veteran Al Dembowski at the 2013 Flag Day Ceremony.

Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected, usually in a humorous way. In fact, Sir Winston Churchill loved them. I am including some of these figures of speech in my updates, so we can all keep our minds sharp, and hopefully find some humor as well. This one was sent to me by my colleague from District 1, Rod Dembowski.

Stay In. Stay Healthy. Stay Strong.

Pete von Reichbauer
King County Councilmember