(Image: Public Health)
(Image: Public Health)
There are currently 15 new COVID-19 hospitalizations a day in King County — a number we haven’t seen here since Valentine’s Day.
Deaths are increasing, too, to around two per day.
The official count of positive cases? That’s up — but less dramatically.
While the latest wave of the pandemic across Seattle, the county, and the nation will be marked by changing behaviors and attitudes to the virus, people are still seeking out testing here with lab-based PCR tests now averaging around 6,500 processed per day — also the highest since February.
And more of those people getting tested across Seattle and the county are finding out they are sick with COVID.
Current positivity rates according to public health have climbed above 15%. February’s high point topped out just over 13.5%, according to public health’s data.
(Image: Public Health)
This May surge has brought a different response than past increases with less attention, fewer updates and announcements from health officials, and mostly silence from public officials. There are increasing signs that life is moving on. Seattle-area traffic is back to gridlock. We are, apparently, learning to live with the virus.
King County health officials, in fact, just announced the closure of three testing facilities in Tukwila, Federal Way and Auburn citing widespread availability of PCR and at-home testing.
In his most recent public briefing, King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin said risk in the county was rising. “The CDC medium risk category is not a magic threshold, meaning the COVID-19 pandemic locally is suddenly or fundamentally different or that we’re approaching a crisis level. But it does tell us that COVID-19 infection risk is increasing for individuals and the community,” he said.
This week, Dr. Duchin talked about the continued spring surge, saying it seems “everyone knows someone” with COVID “as cases continue to rise above last summer’s Delta surge peak despite significant undercount.” Duchin says actual cases are “manyfold higher than reported.” Duchin said it is unclear where the current surge will take us but we should expect “ongoing waves of variable severity for a while as new variants emerge.”
King County Seattle Public Health’s guidance for the current phase of the pandemic is routine stuff for many: get your boosters when you can, keep masking, and seek fresh air.
If you need help tracking options down, a list of testing sites is available at: kingcounty.gov/covidtesting.
And free at home tests remain available:
- Washington State Department of Health — www.sayyescovidhomestest.org or call 1-800-525-0127
- Households can order additional tests monthly
- Federal government — www.covidtest.gov or 1-800-232-0233
- Every home in the U.S. may place two orders, for a total of 4 free at-home tests
Hospitalizations and death rates, while they have climbed, remain low in King County. Health officials credit high rates of vaccinations and boosters for the low levels of hospitalizations and deaths.
Last year at this time, Seattle was enjoying falling case numbers as vaccination rates climbed and June’s lifting of many pandemic restrictions approached. By August, a new cycle of “substantial transmission level” was underway. More peaks and valleys would follow.
While we’re learning how to live with the virus this spring — and how best to survive it — officials say we also can do better when it comes to what happens when we test positive. The state’s guidelines for what to do when you catch COVID are here including helping with contact tracing and data collection by self-reporting home test positive results by calling Washington’s COVID-19 hotline at 1–800–525–0127.
This month’s totals through May 14th (Image: Public Health)
UPDATE: This post has been updated with comments from Jeffrey Duchin, MD, Health Officer, Public Health
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The country is approaching the same number of deaths as all US service personnel lost in WWII.
“…how to live with the virus…” I think what you mean and what you’ve already intimated is living in a relative faith based environment, never knowing whether you’ll will survive, die or be disabled for the rest of your life. Rather than trusting socio-political motivations, I put my trust in the current science, ergo, I wear a certified N-95 in public. Local conditions are virtually irrelevant when we’ve created global conditions for continued incubation.
Latest from King Co.:
7,824 new cases over the last 7 days (-31% decrease)
15 daily average hospitalizations (37% increase over last 7 days)
31 new deaths over the last 14 days (107% increase from the prior 14 days)
Not the time to relax.
Thanks for posting this. I feel like I’m playing dodge ball with an invisible enemy
Honestly, this is a bummer, but I’m not going back. It’s been two years, and in a city that is particularly strict. What are we realistically going to do about something that’s literally global? I’m done, most people I know are done, and we’re getting back to our lives.
I have not been reckless at all, but I caught COVID recently. It was no fun, and I had pretty strong symptoms. Thankfully, we have access to antiviral drugs now (which are paid for by the government), which helped a ton.
People can make their own choices based on their own risk appetite at this point. Everyone has had an opportunity to be vaccinated, there is no PPE shortage, etc. People don’t need to be told what to do.
Anyone willing to hazard a guess on when the governor will relinquish his emergency powers? Six months from now? 18 months? 3 years?
It’s worthwhile pointing out that there is no uniform reporting nationally on whether infection was incidental to hospitalization or the cause. The same goes for deaths. So, it’s very difficult to know the seriousness of rising rates. Early in the pandemic, there was a high correlation if you were hospitalized and you tested positive for COVID your hospitalization was likely on account of COVID symptoms. That’s much less the case now, because of Omicron being less virulent and the prevalence of people being vaccinated.
The CDC tracks excess deaths, and those numbers didn’t rise either for the first Omicron wave or for the second one we’re in now.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm
IMO the biggest failure is not that we’re failing to mitigate the second wave through masks and social distancing, it’s our continued substandard vaccination rate and the fact that only a small minority of people testing positive are receiving antivirals.
scroll down. The link you listed DOES show excess deaths for the first Omicron wave that were as high as the first Delta death wave.
If you’re fully vaxxed and are not overweight or have diabetes, then your risk of contracting a serious case is close to zero. Yes I am living with it. I am mystified that so many people are still afraid to eat at a restaurant.
I agree, but I am annoyed that the CDC hasn’t issued any new guidance about whether people under 50 should get a second booster shot, while they have told us they know that our immunity wanes after five months. It’s frustrating that they haven’t figured this out yet, when most of us are at the point where our immunity has already waned. I am taking my chances, as a healthy younger person, but I’d also love to get a second booster, if possible.
Question for you: (I’m not being snarky, I just don’t know). Have you tried to get a booster and they tell you “no” because you’re under 50? I was under the (possibly mistaken) impression they don’t turn anyone away at the pharmacy (or wherever). Or could you just say “I have an underlying condition in my doctor suggested I get a booster “? I’ve had Covid twice. The first time I got very lucky and it was super mild. The 2nd time was so mild I literally didn’t know I had it. I’m sure it was because I’d been boosted but even so the booster was 5 months old. But I still got it a 2nd time anyway. If you want one I’d just do it and not wait for the CDC. If you can, that is.
I’m amazed that so many people choose to eat in crowded restaurants when outdoor dining is available and, frankly, quite enjoyable. To each his own, I guess, but I can honestly say I don’t miss sitting in loud, crowded, stuffy settings. The fact that dining outside helps to avoid contracting covid is just a bonus.
So, first of all 70% of the population is at least overweight. Secondly, the probability of a serious case goes up as you get older, and is doubled if you are male. There are factors you are forgetting.