A6 THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2020 WST LATIMES.COM
THE NATION
KIRKLAND, Wash. —
Parents keep their children
inside. Few people shake
hands anymore. More than
two dozen firefighters re-
main in quarantine. Restau-
rants and hair salons are
close to empty.
Such is life in Kirkland,
Wash., the suburb just east
of Seattle known for its
folksy downtown and spec-
tacular lakefront views, but
now above all as the U.S. epi-
center of COVID-19.
Of the 11 U.S. deaths from
the epidemic, eight were
residents of a local nursing
home that is struggling to
care for others who may
have been infected. An addi-
tional death occurred at a
Kirkland hospital.
“I can’t kiss my kids,” said
Hamid Dabbaghian, a 48-
year-old cashier at the Kirk-
land Whole Foods who re-
cently moved here from Iran
and feared catching the
virus from customers. “As a
newcomer to the U.S., I’m
worried about my family,
and worried that if I die,
what will they do.”
Others in this city of
90,000 remain nonchalant or
fatalistic, expressing sympa-
thy for those who have died
but determination to carry
on.
“It’s not the Holocaust.
It’s not Armageddon,” said
Doug Evanson, 57, an Uber
driver who frequently drops
healthcare workers at the
nursing home. “I don’t get
why I need to go out and buy
cases of drinking water
when I can just turn on the
tap.”
Kirkland is an upscale
suburb on the east shore of
Lake Washington, with sun-
set views over the water and
the tops of Seattle towers be-
yond. Its downtown features
art galleries, whimsical
sculptures, a marina and a
Little League baseball field.
Like many cities in the
area, it’s undergoing rapid
growth and gentrification,
with condominium con-
struction and rising real es-
tate prices. It has a Google
campus and Northwest Uni-
versity, a Christian liberal
arts school.
Residents awoke Sat-
urday to the news that a man
in his 50s with underlying
health conditions had died
from the virus the previous
day at the city’s Evergreen-
Health Medical Center.
At the time, it was
thought to be the first U.S.
death from the outbreak,
but officials have since an-
nounced that two infected
residents of the nursinghome, Life Care Center of
Kirkland, had died two days
earlier.
Alarm grew as national
news crews converged on the
nursing home, where fire-
fighters had been called to
transport critically ill pa-
tients to the hospital.
Local stores quickly sold
out of canned goods, disin-
fectants, toilet paper, water
and other supplies as resi-
dents prepared for possible
quarantine.
“This is definitely scary,”
said Silas Kropp, 43, after re-
turning Sunday to his apart-
ment next door to the nurs-
ing facility. He had spent the
previous night scrubbing
disinfectant throughout the
Dollar Tree store where he
works.Cars slowed in front of
the nursing home as televi-
sion reporters prepared for
stand-ups. Neighbors stood
in knots of three or four, look-
ing up as cars drove by.
“People drive up and
stare at us, like we’re in a
quarantine museum,” said
Stephanie Windle, 36, a next-
door neighbor of the nursing
home.
Bonnie Holstad stood
outside the facility holding a
handwritten sign expressing
concern for her husband,
one of more than 100 resi-
dents at the facility.
“No one at Life Care is an-
swering the phones,” it said.
“He needs to be attended to
... what is his temperature?”
Ken Holstad, who has
Parkinson’s disease and de-mentia, moved into the cen-
ter after breaking his hip in a
fall. His wife said he was
coughing.
As of Wednesday, six Life
Care residents and a woman
who works there were hospi-
talized in Kirkland, some of
them in critical condition,
officials said.
On Monday, the city re-
ported that two police offi-
cers and 27 firefighters — a
quarter of its Fire Depart-
ment — had been placed in
quarantine after being ex-
posed to patients from the
nursing home.
Officials urged residents
to stay calm and take pre-
cautions recommended na-
tionally: Wash hands fre-
quently, stay home when
sick and avoid contact with
ill people.
On Tuesday, the U.S.
death toll jumped to nine,
eight of those in Kirkland.
That afternoon, Erica Bar-
low, an insurance marketing
manager, kept her distance
from other parents waiting
outside Peter Kirk Elemen-
tary School to pick up their
children.
Barlow smiled as her
boyfriend’s 8-year-old son,
Holden Weihs, ran toward
her. Holden’s father, Ken, is a
Kirkland firefighter, she
said. He has not been quar-
antined but has been work-
ing overtime to cover for
those who have.
“I am very concerned
about him as a first respond-
er,” Barlow said. He and
other firefighters answering
calls involving people with
respiratory symptoms put
on gloves, face masks and
eye protectors.
“I do wish people would
take this more seriously,”
said Barlow, who had seen
social-media posts lam-
pooning people for going to
extremes with precautions.
“It’s not a snow day. It’s
something we could actuallycontrol if we followed more of
the guidelines.”
Residents with underly-
ing health conditions are
taking the situation espe-
cially seriously. Marco Saf-
aeian, 50, a chiropractor
with severe asthma, worried
about his vulnerability and
that of his son, who also has
asthma.
“I’m afraid if I get this
kind of disease, it’s going to
kill me,” Safaeian said. “A lot
of people I’m sure got in-
fected, and they’re every-
where.”
One Kirkland business
doing a brisk trade during
the outbreak is Herban Well-
ness, a downtown store sell-
ing natural remedies. Owner
Katya Difani, an herbalist,
said her sales have jumped
70% since Saturday, with ris-
ing interest in immunity
boosters and natural sani-
tizing spray.
“A lot of my customers
who are coming in are say-
ing, ‘I’m not being fear-
based; I just want to be pre-
pared,’” Difani said.
Down the street, stylist
Rita Dadyan stood in the
Shop, a hair salon whose
business has plunged. She
took a more casual attitude
than many, saying she was
doing little more than wash-
ing her hands frequently.
“If you die, you die,” said
Dadyan, 62. “We still live on
this earth; we’re not in heav-
en yet. We’re going to have
problems in life, but we’ll be
fine.”
Barlow said she was can-
celing work travel and mak-
ing contingency plans in
case school closes for Hold-
en and his sister, Emma, 5.
Barlow turned 46 on
Wednesday, and planned a
different kind of birthday
celebration.
“I don’t think we’re going
to go out to dinner,” she said.
“I kind of prefer to stay in-
side.”Welcome to the U.S. coronavirus epicenter
Stores are empty and firefighters in quarantine as the death toll rises in Kirkland, Wash.
By Richard Read
KATYA DIFANI,preparing a tincture Tuesday at her Kirkland store, Herban
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