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There’s coronavirus in the city’s poop

caption: King County's West Point water treatment plant.
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King County's West Point water treatment plant.

Here’s why that’s a good thing. Also, what’s the status on Washington state’s reopening? What transit authorities are doing and not doing to help protect their staff, the state of vaccine development, and a voice of the coronavirus pandemic.

Individual segments are available in our podcast stream or at www.kuow.org/record.

Coronavirus in the sewers

Like microplastics and opioids, COVID-19 is the latest societal scourge to make its way into our sewers. David Hirschberg, founder of life sciences nonprofit RAIN Incubator, says that’s a useful epidemiological indicator that could help in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Mike Baker on what's reopening

Last week, Governor Inslee allowed some construction projects to restart. Next up could be recreational fishing and some parks. New York Times Northwest correspondent Mike Baker spoke with Bill Radke about what opens when, and why.

Are transit workers being protected?

Earlier this month statistics emerged that showed employees of New York’s Metro Transit Authority were dying of COVID-19 at three times the rate of the city’s fire and police departments. Transit agencies across the country have seen plummeting ridership even as drivers say they’re still being exposed to outsize risk with inadequate protection. CityLab’s West Coast bureau chief Laura Bliss has written about the issue.

Seattle groups work towards a vaccine

A vaccine for the novel coronavirus is a crucial part of the strategy to return to a new normal, in Washington and across the world. Labs in the Seattle area are leading the effort to find one. KUOW’s David Hyde has that story.

Voice of the Pandemic: Angela Theriault

How can you social distance if you need touch to speak? Angela Theriault is deaf and almost completely blind, and relies on a special form of sign language. KUOW’s Joshua McNichols has that story for our series Voices of the Pandemic.

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