CORONAVIRUS: Thursday 7/9 roundup

Four months after West Seattle’s first publicly disclosed COVID-19 case, here’s the nightly virus-crisis news roundup:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:

*11,486 people have tested positive, up 167 from yesterday

*602 people have died, up 4 from yesterday

*1,662 people have been hospitalized, up 19 from yesterday

*198,710 people have been tested, up 3,718 from yesterday

One week ago, those totals were 10,596/589/1,606/175,993.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.

LOCAL TREND: You can use the daily-summary dashboard and choose the “geography over time” tab to see how many positive test results were reported in the past two weeks, and previous two-week periods. This map uses “health reporting areas,” with the peninsula broken into West Seattle and Delridge HRAs. The two had 82 positive tests total in the past two weeks, up from 25 during the two weeks before that. Total positives for the two combined, since the start of the pandemic: 397.

ANOTHER RESTAURANT CASE: The new MOD Pizza in Westwood Village reopened today after a short closure following an employee’s positive test.

WEST SEATTLE TESTING TOMORROW: Weekly reminder – Friday is the weekly drive-up testing day in the north lot at South Seattle College (6000 16th SW; WSB sponsor), 10 am-3 pm.

FREE FOOD TOMORROW: 2-5 pm Friday at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th; map). The emergency food boxes – which FL says will include fresh produce and dairy products – are available to all, no paperwork or proof of need (you will only be asked for your zip code).

PHOTOS? TIPS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302 – thank you!

28 Replies to "CORONAVIRUS: Thursday 7/9 roundup"

  • Stay well July 9, 2020 (11:04 pm)

    Hospitalizations were up 12 yesterday and up another 19 today. That’s 32 people hospitalized with severe covid in our county in just 2 days. Yikes. Please be careful everyone.

    WSB, is there any info on demographics of these folks hospitalized? Can we find info on ages, more specific areas/hospitals, etc?

    • WSB July 9, 2020 (11:23 pm)

      All the info that’s public is on the county dashboards. One of the tabs on the daily summary is “demographics” so you could try that one….

      • Stay well July 10, 2020 (12:17 am)

        Got it, thanks WSB.  Not finding the specificity I was looking for, but here is what I found for accumulative demographics of hospitalized cases, for anyone interested.

    • WS Guy July 10, 2020 (12:27 am)

      King County population is 2,200,000 people.  26 people have deaths that were attributed to COVID in the past 30 days.

      Hospitalization chart:

      • WS Guy July 10, 2020 (12:57 am)

        Here is an overlay of hospitalizations and case counts. Hospitalizations are the darker color.

        .

        • AMD July 10, 2020 (9:36 am)

          Uptick in hospitalizations is concerning because people start dying unnecessarily from things other than COVID when the hospitals are at capacity (on top of concerns about a coming uptick in COVID deaths).

      • Stay well July 10, 2020 (5:56 am)

        I bet the 32 people just hospitalized would really appreciate your chart, and nonchalant comment. So reassuring.

      • Smittytheclown July 10, 2020 (6:18 am)

        WS GUY thank you!  Great charts and data.Any  idea how many people typically die in King County over that time period?  Just tying to get some perspective.I know nationally about 7,700 die per day historically of all causes.  Covid at about 600/day right now.

        • WS Guy July 10, 2020 (1:30 pm)

          Hi Smitty.
           
          You can get that data at the WA state Death Dashboard.  (Yes that is what they call it.)
           
          https://www.doh.wa.gov/DataandStatisticalReports/HealthDataVisualization/MortalityDashboards/AllDeathsDashboard
          The most recent year is 2018.  There were 13,179 deaths in King County.  That is an average of 1,098 per month.
           
          26 COVID deaths over 30 days would be an increase of 2.4% above the usual mortality rate, unless those deaths would have occurred anyway from other causes (comorbidites).

          • Anna July 10, 2020 (2:40 pm)

            I actually do find WS guy’s charts reassuring. I think it’s great that the deaths and hospitalizations are way down. Seems like as it hits a younger population and as doctors learn more about the best treatment options, less people are dying.

      • Stay well July 10, 2020 (6:33 am)

        Also, if 26 deaths is the total for the past month, half of those occurred within the last week.

        • WS Guy July 11, 2020 (12:20 am)

          As of 7/11, 9 deaths have been reported that took place in the month of July.  That’s what the King County dashboard shows.

          • Stay well July 11, 2020 (6:32 am)

            I am going off WSB’s daily reporting. If you look at the past weeks ‘roundups,’ 13 people have died from C19 in King County since Monday.

          • WS Guy July 12, 2020 (12:45 am)

            You’re not reading the county’s reports correctly.  When the number says 12 that does not mean 12 died yesterday.  It means that 12 death reports were received yesterday but the date of each of those could have taken place some time ago.  

            You can get the actual data, with dates and rolling averages, from the county’s dashboard rather than by piecing together fragments of data from this blog.

            The county also sometimes amends past incorrect reports.  For example a death by suicide was attributed to COVID and was later removed.  Maybe something like that happened recently because today I see 8 deaths in July, not 9.

          • WSB July 12, 2020 (1:00 am)

            Excuse me, but we publish “actual data.” EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. Not “fragments.” If you want MORE data, absolutely, dive into the dashboards (which is why we include the link), but don’t imply we’re not publishing “actual data.” Thanks.

          • Stay well July 12, 2020 (7:05 am)

            I haven’t been reading the data incorrectly.

            Again, I have been referring to daily reported numbers, as reported by WSB.

            Well aware that the daily numbers are reported totals on that day and not necessarily the exact day those people died. It doesn’t matter which day, they still died, and recently. 13 last week, as was reported each day.

            I haven’t been able to reproduce the total you are now seeing on the dashboard, but maybe you are right and the totals have since been revised.

            WSB, can you help confirm the total deaths reported for July in King County? Thank you for all of you do!

  • WS Guy July 10, 2020 (10:23 am)

    Currently only 3.1% of emergency beds are occupied by COVID patients. Only 60.7% of beds are occupied at all, for any reason.
    .

    • Anna July 10, 2020 (11:05 am)

      Thank you for the info WS Guy. This is a helpful perspective. 

  • newnative July 10, 2020 (10:48 am)

    So, I learned that the schedule for the South Seattle College Friday testing site is incorrect. I called the main number yesterday and the lady said it started at 9:30am, not 10:00 am. I asked if you drive up/walk up at any time and she said yes. It took longer than expected to get there so we pulled up at 9:38 and they were turning people away, saying they were already at capacity. 

    • WSB July 10, 2020 (11:40 am)

      Thanks for the update. The most recent time I looked at the master list, the times were the same as originally announced – I will ping the original contacts and see if there are any other changes. I would imagine the recent reports here would have led to an increase in people wanting to be tested – hope everyone’s OK.

    • JJ July 10, 2020 (3:14 pm)

      Over capacity 8 minutes after opening? That is a problem. That means that there is far more infection out there than we know about. If you are symptomatic or significantly concerned about an exposure, please continue to isolate until you can test negative.

      • WS Guy July 11, 2020 (12:35 am)

        Morning crowding at a single testing site does not immediately support the conclusion that “there is far more infection out there than we know about”.

        Can we stop inflating fears with unsubstantiated claims please?

        I’ve been trying to supply this thread with data without comment because I feel like the narrative has become decoupled from a grounding in the facts.

        • Stay well July 11, 2020 (6:56 am)

          WS guy, sorry if others concerns and sharing is causing anxiety. I don’t believe that’s anyone’s intention. Some are just wanting to stay informed about potential increased risks during a health crisis, and to help one another.

          Fyi, epidemiologists believe there are far more infections out there than we are aware of. So JJ is in good company having some concern about this.

          If there is a a sudden increase in people testing at a particular site, could be an indication that more people in that area are symptomatic or believe they have been exposed. 

          I personally don’t think it’s unreasonable for someone to postulate about this, to question it and feel some concern, and it doesn’t bother me that it was shared, but I also understand your concern.

        • heartless July 11, 2020 (8:22 am)

          There is no such thing as data without comment.  The very act of choosing what data to present, and how to present it, tells a story.

          As for your worries about causing fear, I’m not sure being scared right now is such a bad thing.  We’re stuck in this conundrum where fear of a virus and avoiding the virus are really quite linked.  And then when we successfully keep people safe by warning them someone will say “Ah, see, everyone is safe–clearly your worries were unsubstantiated!”

          • WS Guy July 12, 2020 (12:58 am)

            The right people should be afraid for the right reasons.  If I ran a nursing home right now I’d be extremely cautious.  If I was a 20 year old planning an outdoor BBQ I would not.

            We should have been focusing our attention and resources where the risk is.  We are spreading generalized panic and levying blanket rules that are so unnecessary that they wind up creating mistrust in the system and an attitude that the rules can be safely ignored.

            It reminds me of when the govt spread so many exaggerations about the dangers of marijuana use that young people stopped taking warnings about drugs seriously.

  • Stay well July 10, 2020 (9:16 pm)

    I’m glad looking at the results from the previous months stay at home efforts is reassuring for some. It’s not for me because I can see other data that is concerning and where that may be heading. This is a really stressful time and I can understand that may feel helpful to focus on.

    My point in sharing the spike in hospitalizations is simply out of concern for others, sharing information for awareness that will hopefully help others stay well too. I’m sad that so many are sick and dying from this, and I worry especially for people I love.

    Not trying to cause anyone anxiety by sharing the concerning data, my intention was to be helpful.

    Hope you all stay well.

    • WS Guy July 11, 2020 (1:04 am)

      What is the data that is alarming you?  Can you share it?  Was it the last two days of reported hospitalizations posted above?The Seattle Times published an article today cautioning people not to get too wound up over daily numbers.  https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/4-days-of-double-digit-coronavirus-deaths-in-washington-state-how-to-interpret-the-data/

      Then they shoot themselves in the foot by using this graphic to illustrate the concept of a 14-day rolling average:
      .
      Oh no, the curve is not flattened!  But, this poorly titled graphic is not actual data.  It’s just showing an example of what a 14-day average could look like.
      Upon closer reading, the actual data for WA state is in a different graphic:
      .
      .
      The 14-day average for deaths is actually flat.  Or as a quote in the article put it, “I’m not seeing a big uptick in our epidemiologic curve for any one date, or a timeframe, quite yet.” – Dr. Kathy Lofy, WA State health officer.

      • Stay well July 11, 2020 (7:19 am)

        Not alarmed, just aware, and concerned about the more recent increase in the percent of positive cases and uptick in hospitalizations, which means increased transmission in our communities, and more potential illness and deaths to follow. And this past week or so have seen an increase in deaths reported.

        It’s reasonable for people to want to be alert and adjust their choices when there is increased transmission, to mitigate possibly getting sick or contributing to spreading this illness to others.

        I think it’s also reasonable if you don’t want to be as aware and alert, tune out some of the day to day sharing, but are continuing to take all the precautions. Maybe it doesn’t feel helpful to you to look at things in the way others are, but it’s helpful for some.

Sorry, comment time is over.