(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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