Tonight’s pandemic-related local notes:

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

*51,671 people have tested positive, up 820 from yesterday’s total

*920 people have died, up 3 from yesterday’s total

*3,543 people have been hospitalized, up 57 from yesterday’s total

*675,103 people have been tested (fewer than yesterday’s total – the state says data is still in flux)

One week ago, those totals were 46,173/886/3,305/628,862.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,. *Note the state has announced a change in death data.*

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 69.5 million cases worldwide, 15.6 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.

VACCINE PLAN UPDATE: From the state Health Department, an update rolling together all the vaccine-related news from recent briefings – see it here.

OUTBREAK UPDATE FROM THE MOUNT: Getting ready for the vaccine, increasing testing, and dealing with an ongoing outbreak that’s taken three more lives – that’s all in this update from Providence Mount St. Vincent, along with how you can show support for residents.

GROCERY-STORE CASE: We watch various business websites for COVID-19 updates, including this page on the Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) website. Tonight we note it reported:

One of our Admiral team members tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, December 8th. The team member last worked in the store on Thursday, December 3rd. We are following the recommended response guidelines from public health authorities, including the Centers of Disease Control (CDC) and the King County Department of Health. In addition to the rigorous sanitation protocols we already have in place, the store undergoes a commercial-grade, electrostatic disinfectant service twice a week, and we are able to safely remain open at this time.

All team members who came into close contact with the person who tested positive have been identified, notified, and are required to self-quarantine for 7-days and may return pending a negative COVID-19 test.

We’ve also noted that past case reports from other stores have been removed from the website after a few days; here’s a screengrab in case that happens before you look at the link.

GROCERY WORKERS’ SAFETY: The main union for grocery workers in this region, UFCW 21, has launched a campaign asking customers to help them track safety concerns.

HELPING: Many ways you can do that in the days ahead, including two donation drives in The Junction on Saturday, and a toiletries drive at Delridge Community Center through early January.

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

We’re continuing to check on ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at West Seattle care facilities. We asked Providence Mount St. Vincent (“The Mount”) for a status report on theirs, as well as whether any community support is needed. Here’s the update they provided in response, also including word that they’ve increased testing and are getting ready for vaccine availability:

The outbreak at Providence Mount St. Vincent continues to reflect the surge of Covid-19 in the broader community. Since the update provided just prior to Thanksgiving, 3 additional people have died. Since the beginning of the pandemic, The Mount has lost a total of 14 people to Covid-19. Right now, 19 residents and 21 caregivers have tested positive in the current outbreak following a period of 6 months with no resident cases. Most all who are positive are in the process of recovery.

“Our hearts go out deeply to those who have lost a loved one and for those fighting to get well either here at The Mount or in the broader community,” said Dr. David Roesel, who serves as an on-site medical provider. “It’s disheartening for all of us to see this. While the entire team of caregivers at The Mount are taking this incredibly seriously, doing everything possible and often with great personal sacrifice, we are seeing across the state and the nation how difficult it is to contain the virus once it is started in congregate settings.”

In addition to months of routine, weekly testing of caregivers and as-needed symptom-based resident testing, last week The Mount began point-of-care rapid testing for residents and caregivers. All residents are additionally being tested this week. Any positive resident test result is immediately followed up with communication with the resident and their family.

(Director of Transitional Care Teresa Goodwin, RN, assists with on-site rapid testing setup at The Mount)

Additionally, caregivers will now be tested twice per week. “The new, on-site lab took a herculean effort to get approved and set up, but is already making a difference”, said Dr. Roesel. “It has enabled us to identify asymptomatic caregivers in under an hour rather than multiple days, and to stop the transmission of the virus from that individual.”

“Continuous transparency with our community of residents, family members, Intergenerational Learning Center parents and caregivers has been our goal since day one,” said Administrator Charlene Boyd. “In addition to weekly written updates; a daily family recorded phone-line update; and a dedicated phone line for family members to call at any time; we have conducted at minimum monthly virtual Town Halls followed up with written notes for all. Since the start of this recent surge, The Mount has increased the Family Virtual Town Hall to bi-weekly. The Town Halls are conducted by our on-site Infection Preventionist, our Director of Clinical Services, our on-site Physicians, and myself. Nurse and administrative leaders for all neighborhoods and living areas throughout The Mount’s campus have also increased weekday morning standup infection-prevention briefings to seven days a week and I couldn’t be more proud of their efforts”.

The team at The Mount has additionally been working hard to be ready to administer the vaccine on-site through a partnership with a national pharmacy and with support from Providence Health and Services.

“The vaccine cannot arrive a moment too soon as we work to protect the most vulnerable residents and caregivers here at The Mount as well as for our broader community,” said Dr. Roesel. “We have the potential to end this pandemic if people are willing to accept the vaccine and keep up public health measures and social distancing until we get there.”

Given the continued surge expected through the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, we implore people to stay home, wear masks and maintain social distancing.

And, please join us in our efforts to make Christmas special for all of the residents at The Mount and to thank the tireless efforts of the caregivers.

A wish list has been developed to fulfill individual resident Christmas wishes and to add a Christmas decoration to their rooms and apartments. Gifts purchased online will be shipped directly to The Mount and team members will ensure a special delivery.

bit.ly/PMSVWishList

Additionally, ornaments may be purchased in gratitude for The Mount’s residents and caregivers through our hallelujah tree program. You may personalize a note to be delivered to them with the ornament, and funds raised support other wonderful life activities through the Providence Mount St. Vincent Foundation.

bit.ly/HallelujahTrees

With immense gratitude to the entire West Seattle community for their outpouring of love and support for all those who make The Mount their home and all those who care for them.

The Mount is West Seattle’s largest facility of its kind.