For the second consecutive night, a big announcement from the governor leads the roundup:

GET BACK IN THE CLASSROOM, SAYS GOVERNOR: By mid-April, “every student” must have the option of some in-person learning, by order of the governor. Seattle Public Schools says it’s waiting until the governor puts this all in writing to “analyze” it; no official reaction yet from the Seattle Education Association yet, either. Side note: Oregon’s governor announced a similar order today.

KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the latest stats from the Public Health daily-summary page, cumulative totals:

*83,806 people have tested positive, 153 more than yesterday’s total

*1,435 people have died, 6 more than yesterday’s total

*5,166 people have been hospitalized, 7 more than yesterday’s total

*926,928 people have been tested, 1,867 more than yesterday’s total

Now, our weekly check of key numbers on the COVID Vaccination Among King County Residents dashboard:

*459,191 people have received one dose

*260,713 people have received both doses

*714,115 doses have been allocated to King County

One week ago, the first four totals were 82,818/1,412/5,125/913,804, and the vaccination totals were 393.154/218,184/622,155.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 119 million cases, 2,639,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.

STATEWIDE SITUATION REPORT: The newest one was released tonight. Key points:

-Case counts have increased slightly in western Washington and plateaued in eastern Washington as of late February.

-Most counties have seen declines in case counts since the first week of January, but cases have flattened in several counties and are starting to increase again in others.

=Cases are increasing among younger adults aged 20-29 and 30-39. This has previously been an early warning sign of larger surges in the general population.

-We are seeing sharp declines in hospital admission rates among people 70 and older, possibly because those groups are among the first to get vaccinated.

-COVID-19 transmission is continuing at about the same level after declines through January and February.
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-The estimated prevalence (percentage of people with active COVID-19 infections) began to plateau in early February after declines in January.

COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER’S BRIEFING: In his weekly briefing, Dr. Jeff Duchin said “The forecast is partly sunny with a chance of rain.’

VACCINATION SITUATION: Dr. Duchin and the county continue warning that supply is far behind demand, and that’s even before the eligibility expansion that kicks in next week. If you’re seeking vaccine:

If you’re eligible now, here are places to look:
*For the city-run West Seattle and Rainier Beach sites and Lumen Field Event Center hub – get on the notification list here; check for West Seattle appointments available in the next few days by going here
*Your health-care provider (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)
*Pharmacy chains big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca (a reader reports they opened up appointments tonight), Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

IF YOU NEED TESTING SATURDAY: The city’s West Seattle test site (2801 SW Thistle) continues to be open on Saturdays.

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