CORONAVIRUS: Friday 11/13 roundup

37 weeks now since the Friday night announcement that King County had its first case of COVID-19 – and tonight’s case total sets a record:

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:

*33.368 people have tested positive, 798 more than yesterday’s total

*828 people have died, 2 more than yesterday’s total

*2,791 people have been hospitalized, 19 more than yesterday’s total

*587,735 people have been tested, 4.255 more than yesterday’s total

One week ago, those totals were 29,997/811/2,633/564,082.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 53.3 million cases, 1,302,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.

TRAVEL ADVISORY: Last night, Gov. Inslee mentioned “additional measures” in the days ahead. He made one announcement today via news release:

Gov. Jay Inslee issued a travel advisory for Washington today, recommending a 14-day quarantine for interstate and international travel and asks residents to stay close to home. Inslee joined California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in urging visitors entering their states or returning home from travel outside these states to self-quarantine to slow the spread of the virus. …

In addition to urging individuals arriving from other states or countries to self-quarantine for 14 days after arrival, the states’ travel advisories recommend individuals limit their interactions to their immediate household. The advisories define essential travel as travel for work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.

Read the full advisory document here.

NEED TESTING? Our weekly reminder – the city-operated testing site in West Seattle – south side of the Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot (2801 SW Thistle) – is open Saturdays (as well as weekdays). Go here to choose an appointment time before you go.

IF YOU CAN HELP … here are two more local donation drives, one through the holiday season, one this Sunday.

GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!

psps November 14, 2020 (12:20 am)

Yikes! This is horrendous! It’s exponentially worse every day now.

Hermit November 14, 2020 (2:20 am)

I guess we all need to live like a hermit for 12 more months or more to hopefully stay alive. Wash your hands, wear a mask, wear a mask even if you are outside, duct tape a mask on your face, stay 6 feet apart, and don’t forget to wash your hands and stop coughing in your hands.

Reality check November 14, 2020 (8:30 am)

Yet another application for duct tape ;)

In seriousness though, a reminder regarding masks… please keep your mask on when coughing and sneezing AND also cough/sneeze into your elbow.

Also, maybe we should all be using the filter pockets that come in some of our masks more regularly. A folded paper towel or coffee filter will do.

anonyme November 14, 2020 (5:46 am)

Recommendations, advisories, and mandates are all completely useless unless consequences are attached. These are gestures, nothing more, and will do nothing to curb the coronavirus. Unless the upcoming “additional measures” have some teeth, this thing will continue to spiral out of control. Failure to wear a mask should carry penalties. Also, the 6-foot distancing rule (which hardly anyone follows any more) should be updated to a more realistic 10 feet.

Reality check November 14, 2020 (6:48 am)

When did movie theaters start reopening?

What else loosened in the past 4-6 weeks?

CAM November 14, 2020 (8:51 am)

This change has long been predicted even before reopening plans were announced or thought about. It’s most likely weather related. People are spending more time indoors in enclosed environments. They are also not being as cautious as they were 6 months ago due to fatigue. It’s hard to maintain that sense of high alert long term but is unfortunately necessary in these circumstances. Everything I’ve heard in recent weeks is that people are spending less on in person dining and on experiences, etc due to the virus. It doesn’t seem like there are that many people actually going to the movies even if they are open.

flimflam November 14, 2020 (6:57 am)

wow, that is an alarming jump from already high daily numbers. what in the world is Inslee waiting for?

CAM November 14, 2020 (7:46 am)

Shadowland has posted on social media that they are closed due to an employee and a customer testing positive.

Reality check November 14, 2020 (8:20 am)

Comparing current totals to last weeks totals as reported here, the increase in numbers (for King County) just this week are:

new positive cases = 3,371
deaths = 17
hospitalizations = 158

For comparison sake, I went back 4 weeks and compared the weekly increase for that week (10/16) over the previous week, and here are those numbers:

positive cases = 1,037
deaths = 8
hospitalizations = 46

Comparing the increase numbers of this week over the week ending 10/16 (4 weeks ago):

225% increase in positive cases
112% increase in deaths
243% increase in hospitalizations

(note: ‘Math Teacher’ if you’re out there, please correct my math if needed)

CAM November 14, 2020 (9:37 am)

I’d edit this to note that these are increases in “rates” vs. increases in #s. The numbers don’t show increases in deaths but do show a change in the death rate for those weeks. Same for the positive case and hospitalization numbers.
dsa November 14, 2020 (2:28 pm)

Using the above numbers for the four weeks, I see a triple number of new cases, a double number of deaths and a 3.5 increase for hospitalizations.

Rb November 14, 2020 (8:21 am)

I know people will hate this comment, but we had lots of celebrations, parades, etc last week to celebrate the new President. Sometimes I feel we have lots of double standards. We are always looking at what others are doing that could be spreading the virus and consider what we do a justified, innocent, must-do. Frankly, most movie theaters have people wear masks, sit far away, eliminated food, offer sanitisers, etc. Businesses are doing their part. Now, what people do in their private lives is what is making all the difference.

Blbl November 14, 2020 (11:46 am)

We had reservations and went to get tested at the Southwest Athletic Complex yesterday and we left after seeing the large crowd (30-40). It is a walk-up site, as opposed to SODO’s drive-up site, and the que wound back and forth so you really couldn’t maintain social distancing.

Small Biz Owner November 14, 2020 (12:56 pm)

I wish Inslee would stop telling us he will institute additional measures in the days to come instead of just telling us now. The level of stress it puts on people, and especially small business is irresponsible. Either tell us now, or don’t say anything until you have something to say. I watched my small business sales drop over 50% from last week since his announcement. People are waiting to hear what is going on and not shopping like they normally would be. Every time he has said “more to come”, sales have dropped. Does he not understand that his words affect people? I feel he is VERY out of touch with how he handles things, and I really hope he gets a position in the Biden/Harris admin, just so he leaves the state.

Zimbodou November 14, 2020 (3:33 pm)

Yes, I totally agree with you. Tell us your plans now! Waiting to hear him speak a few days ago was a total waste of time for he didn’t say anything new or earth shattering to people. We need to know what the plan is going to be now before more people die and get sick from the virus. In my opinion he doesn’t really have a clear plan sort of reminds me of where I used to work. He is probably waiting to have more meetings with people before he tells the public about another shut down.
- WSB November 14, 2020 (4:48 pm)
  
  Looks like the announcement is tomorrow. Working on that story now.
Friend O'Dinghus November 14, 2020 (6:14 pm)

I believe it’s fair to note that a significant percentage of our population has begun self-restricting over the last couple of weeks. Watching the nightly numbers here on the blog is quite sobering for those following such data. This may be impacting your business more than you realize.

Math teacher November 14, 2020 (1:13 pm)

@Reality Check – your numbers and calculations look right, although I didn’t check them line by line. @Cam – true – Reality Check’s calculations show that deaths per week increased 112%. I thought that was clear, but you’ve made it even more clear, which is really cool.

I love math talk..The numbers are shocking. The waiting lines for testing are shocking. But what really alarms me is looking at the above numbers of positive cases and hospitalizations and realizing that they are among the lowest number in the nation.

payattention November 14, 2020 (2:44 pm)

Here’s one for you. Singer Erykah Badu was tested before a livestream appearance. She showed her rapid scan test results. Right nostrel: NEGATIVE. Left nostrel: POSATIVE. Same machine, tests done concurrently Sooo explain that one to us.