Workers yesterday building a temporary field hospital on a soccer field in Shoreline.
Workers yesterday building a temporary field hospital on a soccer field in Shoreline. Karen Ducey/Getty Images

How are people in Shoreline reacting to the temporary field hospital being built there? “Honestly, the first thing we thought was zombie apocalypse movie. That’s the only time you see a field hospital,” a Shoreline resident told KUOW.

But King County clarified yesterday: That it’s ordered no medical equipment for the Shoreline soccer field facility and said it was "still deciding how the new site will be used based on need but added it will most likely be used for people recovering from the coronavirus," KIRO reports.

Washington state receives thousands of coronavirus test kits and face masks: "The federal government has provided 8,000 COVID-19 testing kits," the Tacoma News Tribune reports, along with "426,690 N-95 respirators, or face masks for airborne injections, and 662,103 surgical masks, those to protect against larger droplets."

Sound Transit sees sharp decline in funding: Because the coronavirus outbreak is eroding tax revenue and keeping transit riders at home, Seattle Times reports. Meanwhile, "King County Metro estimates it is losing $1.3 million a week in fares and $5 million a week in sales tax."
Cemeteries are restricted from hosting funeral services or memorials: "You may not think of it, but there’s a lot of crying, tissues, lots of opportunities for transmission there as well," one funeral director told Brendan Kiley of the Seattle Times.

Got a sewing machine and extra time on your hands?
Got a sewing machine and extra time on your hands? eclipse_images / Getty Images

Do you have a sewing machine and know how to use it? "Anyone with a willing heart and the ability to sew can help us protect our caregivers by sewing masks they can wear on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19," Providence Hospital in Renton says. If you can commit to sewing at least 100 masks, they're giving out kits with all the materials you would need.

Do you have cleaning supplies you can donate?Ronald McDonald House, which is where families from out a town who have children being treated at Seattle Children's Hospital stay, needs "high efficiency laundry detergent (must be high-efficiency), paper towels, bleach and Clorox wipes," King 5 News reports. "They’re also running low on thermometers, gloves, masks, alcohol wipes, and hand sanitizer." They need donations because "when supplies ran short, suppliers limited how much they could buy." And keeping clean is essential: "All of our residents have immune-compromised children." You drop off donations at the front step without interacting with anyone: 5130 40th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98105.

Do you have extra camping gear? If you have tents or sleeping bags you can donate, Ben Gibbard explains here how you can donate them to people experiencing homelessness.

Do you want to go clam digging along the southern Washington coast? Sorry, buddy. Banned as of this morning because "having that many people on the beach would make it difficult" to social distance.

Not only has Elliott Bay Books stopped hosting nightly author readings, theyve suspended in-person browsing. But you can still buy books from them.
Not only has Elliott Bay Books stopped hosting nightly author readings, they've suspended in-person browsing. But you can still buy books from them. Christopher Frizzelle

How are bookstores adapting to all this? Bookstores in Seattle are closed for in-person browsing, but Elliott Bay Books and University Book Store are selling books online. Book Larder is Fremont is offering to let you Facetime with a bookseller as they walk around the store for you. And Phinney Books and Madison Books are offering to deliver you books in Phinney Ridge and Madison Park respectively. What are other local bookstores doing? There's a great round-up here.

Amazon workers at facilities in Kent and Kirkland complain: They are working "shoulder to shoulder" to fulfil orders and, at least as of Wednesday, were still not being tested for COVID-19 symptoms, Seattle Times reports.

My boyfriend and I made the mistake of looking at this chart before bed last night. "Those red circles are going to be in my nightmares," he said as we fell asleep.

Forty million Californians have been ordered to stay home: "We’re going to keep the grocery stores open,” the governor of California said. “We’re going to make sure that you’re getting critical medical supplies. You can still take your kids outside, practicing common sense and social distancing. You can still walk your dog."

Are you feeling despair? Stop what you are doing and listen to Nathan Chan's message to the city yesterday.

Music has the power to unite us, Nathan said in his message to the city of Seattle on March 19.
"Music has the power to unite us," Nathan said in his message to the city of Seattle on March 19. Courtesy of Seattle Symphony

And now listen to Ben Gibbard's message to the city today: In which he plays a song he just wrote, "Life in Quarantine," for the first time.

Ben Gibbard is in quarantine at home in Seattle.
Ben Gibbard is in quarantine at home in Seattle.