See how Seattle's rush-hour gridlock disappears at the beginning of a epidemic

Seattle's morning rush hour 

gridlock vanishes amid 

coronavirus preps

A day after King County and state health officials recommended that those at higher risk from COVID-19 stay at home and encouraged businesses to allow employees to work remotely, evidence was clear Thursday morning that many were taking the advice.

Freeways around the Seattle area weren't empty, but they featured considerably less volume than a typical Thursday morning rush hour commute.

At 8 a.m. -- typically about the peak of gridlock around here, estimated travel times looked more like weekend morning readings, especially from the North End.

It was an estimated 35 minute drive from Everett to Bellevue along I-5 and I-405 -- a drive that WSDOT says normally is 62 minutes though even that's conservative on many mornings. Sometimes it seems it's 35 minutes just to get to Bothell from Lynnwood.

Seattle-bound drivers from Everett also found freeway speeds all the way in with an estimated 36 minute commute over the 27-mile drive. The average is 67 minutes.

South Sound commuters also found light traffic heading into Seattle and Bellevue -- just 45 minutes from Federal Way to Bellevue (24 miles) -- normally a 72 minute drive. Federal Way to Seattle was 36 minutes; usually a 56 minute drive. It was roughly just 20 minutes to get from Bellevue to Seattle along either the 520 or I-90 floating bridges.

Some other easier commutes:

• Woodinville to Seattle (SR 522->I-405->SR 520->I-5) 33 mins (49 min average)
• Tukwila to Lynnwood (I-5) 41 mins (48 min average)
• Lynnwood to Tukwila (I-5) 37 mins(!) (66 min average)
• Lynnwood to Tukwila (I-405) 43 mins (69 min average)
• Lynnwood to Seattle: 23 mins (50 min average)
• Renton to Bellevue: 31 mins (40 min average)

Only seven of the 58 routes WSDOT tracks had a commute that was considered "longer than average" -- all by one minute.

Several companies in King County told employees to stay home and work remotely if they can, including major employers Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook.

And all students in the Northshore School District which spans both King and Snohomish Counties were told that schools are closed for the next two weeks and students will be getting lessons remotely.

Families upset with coronavirus response at Life Care Center in Kirkland