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How many confirmed COVID-19 cases in West Seattle? We finally have that answer

March 25, 2020 5:02 pm
|      56 COMMENTS
 |   Coronavirus | Health | West Seattle news

Until today, we only knew about COVID-19 cases in West Seattle because they were announced by an institution. Now, King County has just launched a dashboard with data available by zip code. So here’s what it says for the five zip codes in West Seattle:

98106 – 11 positive tests, 117 people who “have test results,” 0 deaths

98116 – 10 positive tests, 136 test results, 0 deaths

98126 – 12 positive tests, 131 test results, 1 death “due to illness”

98136 – 6 positive tests, 76 test results, 1 death “due to illness”

98146 – 12 positive tests, 95 test results, 0 deaths

(Note that 98146 also stretches southward beyond the city limits.)

The 98126 death is likely the one previously reported here, at Bridge Park (where families have just been told today of a fourth case), but we have no details on the 98136 death. The language in the dashboard notes that deaths are among people with a positive test result who died “due to illness,” without saying outright that COVID-19 is what killed them, so keep that in mind. Again, here’s the dashboard if you want to explore the rest of the city/county yourself.

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56 Replies to "How many confirmed COVID-19 cases in West Seattle? We finally have that answer"

  • HS March 25, 2020 (5:23 pm)

    So far, less than 600 tests for the almost 80,000 residents in our area.

    • WSB March 25, 2020 (6:10 pm)

      Actually 100,000 residents in our area!

      • HS March 25, 2020 (7:17 pm)

        Phew! 

      • Out for a walk. March 25, 2020 (9:22 pm)

        I remember when West Seattle had 10,000 residents!  Those were the days!  And that was before the hi rise bridge went in -about 1984 or so. 

        • Suzan Wilson March 29, 2020 (3:58 am)

          Maybe with the UPPER bridge now out, people will leave West Seattle as they did in the 70s with Boeing and in 1980 ish when Ruth Neslund cleaned the clock of her husband Rolf, Puget Sound ship pilot, when he slammed a boat into the old lower bridge when it was open! It would not go down!  We were stranded for quite a while before the upper bridge was built and we practically had to threaten to secede from the city. So maybe people will leave again and we can go back to some semblance of a neighborhood again. Wishful thinking…

    • Mel March 25, 2020 (10:37 pm)

      If you had any idea how many cases were still incubating right now, you would be astonished. Our local healthcare system is about to collapse. 

  • Jeanette Surber March 25, 2020 (5:55 pm)

    So false on information because so many people have it but they won’t test us because we’re too healthy don’t have a fever.

    • WSB March 25, 2020 (6:09 pm)

      Could be. I should add “confirmed” to “cases.”

      • ttt March 26, 2020 (10:07 pm)

        I had a read somewhere that for the number of cases that have been tested positive in your area, that there are ten times that number that are positive but have not been tested.

    • Schmitz March 25, 2020 (7:42 pm)

      @jeanette, correct. Because a person with mild symptoms and no underlying disease does not need testing. Their care can safely be handled at home. A positive test does not change treatment.  Benefit of gathering data does not outweigh risk of sending medically stable people out into the community where they will infect others if they are positive, or conversely, risk infection if they just simple have a common cold.  Best medicine for mildly ill people is to stay home and Reserve the healthcare system, and testing, for those who are the highest risk for sever disease.

      • Amg111975 March 25, 2020 (10:57 pm)

        That’s true. I have been exposed to a possible case now pending results. I also have a Lung Condition called Sarcoidosis so my immunity is lower than the avg person. I have been sick, but my Pulmonologist said I will not be tested because I can isolate and not be in public. He said that if I have it then I have it. The results does not change your care. He requested that I remain home and to ONLY come to hospital if I am on respiratory distress. The ER patients even with positive results are being sent home. The ER in my area is ONLY treating extreme cases. 

    • Tracy Bagwell March 25, 2020 (7:49 pm)

      I’m a transplanted patient. I have no immune system. Guess I am shit out of luck, to be tested. I have been fighting something. My body is on Bactrim for the rest of my life. Oj +Emmence C support every morning. Eating regularly, no salt, no Caffein, and very little sugar. Just drink water mixed with lemon freshly squeezed.The symptom is, headache, my eyes are droopy, heavy and a lot of pressure. I am stuffed up. I feel like a cement block in a vice script. I think my ears are pack shut. My ears are playing the drums.My guess is a sinus infection. 

      • Stuffy March 26, 2020 (7:51 am)

        I have these same symptoms but due to allergies, I hope. I never had issues with allergies until a few years ago and I’m not sure why it started so late in life but I can tell you I haven’t been out in over a week, only in the yard, so I really think it’s just that. Hang in there, stay brave! 

  • JCS March 25, 2020 (6:04 pm)

    We’re doing a great job! Only 15 people have it, then it will be down to zero! I take no responsibility at all! Don’t ask me nasty questions that I can’t answer because you’re a terrible reporter.

    • Scubafrog March 25, 2020 (6:28 pm)

      My mouth was agape when I saw that, JCS.  I expected a bit of reassurance, but the attack on the poor (honest) reporter!  He was savaged  :O   There’s trump, whose never told the truth in his awful life.  I’m looking at how Americans think Trump’s handling the coronavirus, 60% apparently think he’s doing a “good job”?  Oh America, my sweet summer children.Then of course the rhetoric since the first case, “oh it’s no big deal, it will go away on its own.  It’s just like the flu.”, then “yeah the media’s overblown this, trying to make me look bad, they hate me!! it’s all about me!”, then “I knew it was a pandemic all along, it’s really bad, we’re in a war, I’m a bigly super genius, everything’s going great though I have it all under control” as he was briefed in January about it, and didn’t act until after NY, CA and WA were at Major states of disaster.   We all STILL need ventilators, Donald.   Now he wants everyone back to work in the midst of the killer pathogen.  Phew.  Ok, back to our neck of the woods, I hope our neighbors recover stat.  Best  wishes to all  <3

    • Queen Bee March 25, 2020 (6:45 pm)

      What the heck?

    • X March 25, 2020 (7:04 pm)

      Thank you very much Mr. President. May I have another?

    • Bunny March 26, 2020 (7:53 am)

      And we’ll have packed churches on Easter, will be beautiful. 

  • EJ March 25, 2020 (6:32 pm)

    Well, obviously a virus has no zip code preference so it’s bound to be here but it’s sobering to actually read the numbers…. this is so terrible… be safe and stay healthy West Seattle!!

  • wsneddy March 25, 2020 (7:02 pm)

    Thank you so very much for all of your hard work and excellent reporting on all aspects of this crisis, Tracy and WSB! There’s nowhere else we could access this information, information that is critical to our community well-being and personal safety. Kudos, and thank you again!

    • WSB March 25, 2020 (7:56 pm)

      Thank you for the kind words.

      • Terre March 26, 2020 (5:59 pm)

        Couldn’t agree more. You are doing a fantastic job keeping us informed. Thank you so very much! This is why journalism is priceless. 

    • Out for a walk. March 25, 2020 (9:33 pm)

      I agree. Thank you Tracy and West Seattle Blog

      • spaceagepolymer March 26, 2020 (8:26 pm)

        +3 this is a vital service to the community. Thank you for your tireless work and for making WS an even better place.

  • Tiah March 25, 2020 (7:32 pm)

    This doesn’t include presumptive positives, so the number is definitely higher. It’d be interesting to have an anonymous self-reporting for confirmed, tested, presumed, and negative cases. 

    • CAM March 25, 2020 (9:46 pm)

      I don’t remember where but there was an article somewhere that estimated the true positive rate is 90x whatever the confirmed rate is. 

  • Karen Jones March 25, 2020 (7:38 pm)

    Where are the states for other zi codes in Seattle i.e. 98188 and 98198?

    • WSB March 25, 2020 (7:52 pm)

      The dashboard is linked twice in the story. On its map, mouse over whatever zip code interests you.

    • Margelyn Carpenter March 25, 2020 (10:15 pm)

      I have the same question. When I click on the highlighted “dashboard” references I go to the KC page which lists the links, but no map. The whole bottom half of the page is blank. I’ve tried with Safari, Firefox, and Chrome. Any idea
      what’s the problem or how I can get the zipcode info?

      • WSB March 25, 2020 (11:59 pm)

        It was having trouble, I suspect from overload (happened to us earlier this week!) – took me multiple tries. Open the page and then go do something else in another window/tab on your computer and come back to see if it resolved.

  • Mj March 25, 2020 (7:41 pm)

    The vast majority of people who contract the virus have mild symptoms and do not contact their health care provider.  

    • Karen B. March 25, 2020 (9:09 pm)

      MJ, your comment seems the opposite of reassuring or empathetic. Are you actually saying that it’s no biggie if most people – and presumably yourself – who contract the virus don’t end up in the hospital?  Many of us in this community have loved ones who are fragile, who might end up in crisis or die because of misinformation such as this. I think it’s unconscionable for those who are healthy to take no or few steps to prevent the spread of the virus — because our hospital systems will become overwhelmed. After that, even those who don’t have the virus who need hospital care could die. 

      • M.B. March 26, 2020 (1:02 am)

        If people have mild enough symptoms that they don’t contact a health care provider then they aren’t possibly going to be in this data. 

  • Cynthia March 25, 2020 (7:59 pm)

    Hi Tracey and everyone, Thanks for the work you are doing at this difficult time. Please change your headline. It’s misleading. Unless all 100,000 peninsula residents have been tested, we don’t “finally” know much. It is imperative, as our first responders, RNs, and MDs are working in close quarters with COVID-19 infected patients and rapidly running out of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), that we assume that we ALL are infected with COVID-19 and continue to self isolate for at least 2 weeks (the presumed incubation period) to see if we start to exhibit symptoms of the disease in that time. Asymptomatic viral shedding is the reason community spread is happening. Headlines like this can give people a false sense of security at a critical time. There is no action more important right now than to keep people out of the ERs and lessen the burden on our health care system and providers. Might I suggest: “How many COVID-19 cases are in West Seattle? No one knows for certain. Here are the latest numbers of confirmed cases.” Not as catchy I know, but more honest. Please. You can help save lives right now. Respectfully, someone who loves West Seattle 

    • WSB March 25, 2020 (8:28 pm)

      I’ve added “confirmed.”

    • Bradley March 25, 2020 (8:51 pm)

      I, for one, appreciate the actual West Seattle and by-zipcode confirmed case numbers the WSB has posted here. It gives a great representation of the pathogenic activity in our area compared to other parts of our region. As you can see from the map, there is a very high level of contagion in the Kirkland and Issaquah areas. As doctors are only referring ill patients for testing who report key symptoms, we’ll never know EXACTLY how many COVID-19 victims there are. But positive cases give a good estimate of viral activity in a given area.

  • Jen March 25, 2020 (8:48 pm)

    Probably many more, though unreported, cases.  Please be safe, limit contact with others, even if you are young and healthy.  You dont know who is immune challenged, or caring for an elderly parent at home.  Resources are limited, thanks to our “for-profit” healthcare system running lean.  If we all get sick at once, there won’t be help for all of us.  

  • Sam March 25, 2020 (8:57 pm)

    I agree with Cynthia. I don’t think these numbers are 100 percent accurate. In addition, there continue to be discrepancies between the Seattle Times reported numbers and those of the West Seattle blog. No one here in West Seattle should rest easy now. The numbers are growing everywhere. I also think that arguing on this blog is juvenile, immature and not smart right now. We need to band together and help each other out. Stop the petty egotistical bickering. 

  • Jan LP March 25, 2020 (9:29 pm)

    Well at least Vashon is fine because we have “borders “ like the UK.

  • J March 25, 2020 (9:30 pm)

    Someone check my math… Given 1% death rate… Deaths happen at 3 week after infection on average, and cases double every week on average… Then for every death there should be about 800 positives, right? Yes, I personally know multiple people with illness that cannot get tested, and I hardly know anyone. We are under testing. Assume everyone is positive for now. When we get antibody testing things might be a little clearer.

  • Carona+ March 25, 2020 (10:05 pm)

    I’m in West Seattle and have been diagnosed with mild symptoms!! My dr says basically probably 1 out of every 10 has mild cases now Seattle and can’t be tested due to the lack of test… Plus I don’t feel sick enough to need a test from someone who really needs it.. What’s it do for me?? I’ve already decided to quarantine myself for 18 days even though my dr says you can leave the house 24hrs after the symptoms disappear… It was scary at first because watching the media blow it out of control but I’m surviving and it’s basically like a really bad cold!! with some ups and downs… Be safe peoples

    • J March 26, 2020 (7:14 am)

      Some people develop a pneumonia after the cold/flu symptoms. It is the pneumonia part that’s so deadly. Sometimes the pneumonia shows up fast, but sometimes it’s after the mild symptoms resolve. Most people who get the pneumonia end up on the hospital, where the will get tested. Some might die at home… and some might make it through the pneumonia at home and still might not get tested. The deadliest part tends to be about 2-3 weeks after mild symptoms start. Luckily, most people just have a cold like illness or no symptoms at all. When someone tells you this is a minor disease, ”no big deal”, and ”nothing to worry about”, you can trust that they didn’t get struck with the COVID pneumonia. Lucky them. 

  • Ti March 25, 2020 (10:35 pm)

    My mum And I didn’t get tested. We live in West Seattle. And we were at the hospital for a different reason when they were people there with the virus. Where can we get tested?

    • KAC March 26, 2020 (5:59 am)

      You likely can’t unless the confirmed positive would change the way you would be treated. They’ve switched tactics due to shortages of tests from trying to identify how many cases to preparing for the hospital onslaught they know is coming. Stay home, even after symptoms disappear.

  • Bco March 26, 2020 (9:23 am)

    Will we be able to access data on how many West seattlites does of this?

  • KarenT March 26, 2020 (9:58 am)

    Note that Zip Code 98106 also stretches south of the city limits into the unincoporated area of King County – in White Center – going up to 112th where Burien starts.https://www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/98106/

    • WSB March 26, 2020 (9:59 am)

      Thank you.

  • 69 Yr Old Woman March 26, 2020 (11:46 am)

    We have to assume anyone we encounter could have it.  I try to limit my number of grocery and  pharmacy trips for myself and 2 family members and go when stores are less crowded. That said, many people in the stores are honoring the 6 foot distance rule but some are still walking down the middle of the aisles apparently oblivious. I am thinking of bringing one of my orange pool noodles to poke at them. I think it is time for the WHO and the US to rethink their mask recommendations. If anyone could have it without symptoms or testing, shouldn’t we all be wearing masks, homemade if necessary, to prevent possible spread to others? I hope they are striving to test the general population for antibodies, since those tests seem to be easier and faster than testing if you have an active case of the disease. 

    • J March 26, 2020 (1:36 pm)

      Yes. CDC should have all people wear simple masks because of asymptotic transmission. They have advised against it, spread misinformation creating fear of masks, and censored speech online about masks, and reduced PPE protections for healthcare workers because of a severe shortage of masks and other PPE. China and South Korea REQUIRE all citizens to wear masks because of asymptotic transmission… they are the countries that have slowed the virus down. Sew your own mask and encourage others to do the same. Wash and dry your mask regularly and wash your hands after handling it. Donate N95s to medical personnel.

  • John Enger March 26, 2020 (7:24 pm)

    Please update!!!

    • WSB March 26, 2020 (7:32 pm)

      The numbers are routinely in our nightly roundup, and we’ll now be including these too. By 9:30 pm.

  • Don Peterson Jr. March 29, 2020 (10:00 am)

    How many, if any, positive tests have there been at the West Seattle Aegis on Admiral Way.  Any deaths.My parents (mid 80’s) live near Alki (quarantined) and my sister works there and stops by frequently.Thank you.

  • Jojo March 29, 2020 (6:50 pm)

    Can we have an update on these results?

    • WSB March 29, 2020 (7:42 pm)

      I’m updating them in the nightly roundup as time allows. But you can follow the link any time and just mouse over the map.

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