CORONAVIRUS: Sunday 3/21/2021 roundup, including our weekly West Seattle trend check

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

Tonight’s pandemic news:

PHASE 3 TOMORROW: The entire state moves into Phase 3 of the governor’s updated reopening plan. What does that mean? See page 4 here. Key points of what’s allowed:
-Indoor dining, 50 percent capacity
-Indoor shopping, 50 percent capacity
-Personal services, 50 percent capacity
-Indoor worship, 50 percent capacity
-Indoor entertainment venues, 50 percent capacity or 400 people, whichever is less. (If food or drinks are served, eating and drinking requirements apply)
-Indoor fitness, 50 percent capacity, showers allowed

NO COUNTY DASHBOARD UPDATE: For the second consecutive Sunday, the King County daily-summary dashboard wasn’t updated today, so no new daily numbers. (Take note, that means the Monday update will be two days’ worth of stats.)

WEST SEATTLE TRENDS: Since this is a weekly check, we can still do it with the latest info in the system (which is from Saturday). The numbers are shown in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard; to determine WS status, we combine the totals from the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas” (HRAs): For the past two weeks, 94 positive test results; 65 in the 2 weeks before that; 71 in the two weeks before that. … We also are noting WS death totals each week. The total deaths for the entire pandemic in the two HRAs comprising West Seattle: 64, one more since last week.

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 123.1 million cases and 2,715,000+ deaths, 542,000+ of them in the U.S. – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.

IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE AND LOOKING FOR AN APPOINTMENT … here are the links we’ve amassed:

*Check for West Seattle city-run site appointments here; sign up for the city’s notification list for all three of its sites here.
*Health-care providers (particularly bigger ones like UW Medicine, CHI Franciscan, Swedish, Kaiser Permanente, etc.)
*covidwa.com (volunteer-run aggregator)\
*The state says it’s improved its own lookup tool
*Pharmacies big and small – Safeway, Rite Aid, QFC, Pharmaca, Costco
*Sea Mar clinics

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

trickycoolj March 22, 2021 (12:17 am)

Per reports from people who were waiting for leftover vaccines at the West Seattle site, SFD stated that anyone 65+ could walk up without appointment this week.

WSB March 22, 2021 (12:26 am)

Someone messaged us to that effect via Twitter some hours ago but I’m going to check that with the city spokesperson before recommending it. She acknowledged that a few leftovers per day have been a thing lately, so hopefully will also be forthcoming on the walk-up matter.
- SD March 22, 2021 (5:43 pm)
  
  5th time’s a charm, woohoo! They had 19 extra shots today, which was enough to cover all of the 62, 63, and 64 year olds waiting for leftovers today. While I was waiting my 15 minutes after the shot, I asked about 65+ being able to show up anytime during clinic hours without an appointment, and the 3-4 firefighters in the area all said yes, they can just show up.
anonyme March 22, 2021 (12:31 pm)

I hope that if that is true, the walk-ups are being segregated from those with appointments. I don’t think it’s fair to have much older people and those in wheelchairs (with appointments) having to wait in line behind walk-ups.
- DumplingGirl March 22, 2021 (3:29 pm)
  
  There isn’t really a line, everyone just gathers around. They call out and ask whether there is anyone is waiting who has an appointment, then anyone over 65, then 64, 63, etc. I’ve heard they haven’t made it lower than 64 for the past several days.
  - SD March 22, 2021 (4:04 pm)
    
    They made it to 63 Friday and Saturday, but only some of them. But the 65+ walk up invite is different, they can show up any time during the day without an appointment, is what the captain said on Saturday. I’ll ask about it today.

Woosah March 22, 2021 (8:01 am)

Have things really changed? Don’t understand why we’re moving to Phase 3 when only a fraction of the population has been vaccinated. Seems like Inslee just giving into the anti-vax, Covid denying rubes.

A rube, I guess? March 22, 2021 (10:11 am)

I’m not anti-vaccination or Covid-denying but I’m very supportive of going to Phase 3. I’m not a rube though. Is there another category for well-educated thoughtful people who agree with Inslee?
Andros March 22, 2021 (6:44 pm)

Agreed. And we were in a plateau but now the numbers are going up again according to a couple news sources. This is going to work out badly. People are desperate to balance between getting the economy moving, and not killing more people…its a dangerous prospect.

Mike Dey March 22, 2021 (9:13 am)

I have been watching the numbers for the State and King County coming out of John’s Hopkins. The trend in new cases reported is up for both the State and the County. Not huge uptick 9/100,000 to 10/100,000 for the State and from a low a few weeks ago of 6 or 7/100,000 to 9/100,000 for the County. This could be the result of increased testing but it should make folks cautious about being too relaxed until more folks get vaccinated. Will have to see if this increase in reported new cases leads to an increase in hospitalizations .

JJ March 22, 2021 (11:45 am)

Testing has actually been down. Hospitalized patients will only be counted if they were tested when positive by nasal swab. Many people don’t test positive anymore by the time they show up for hospitalization. And then there is that new variant that doesn’t seem to show up on current PCR tests… how would we even guess the prevalence of that? Positively, the positive rate on the tests is not as high as it has been. Hopefully everyone can get vaccinated as quickly as possible, because dangerous as it is, things are opening up. Our docs still don’t have a handle on treating long Covid, so please stay well.
AMD March 22, 2021 (1:25 pm)

There are more tests being done because more people have symptoms because more people are starting to get COVID again. Criteria and availability for testing haven’t changed in some time, so that is not driving any numbers. Parts of Europe are seeing a surge in cases and the US has plateaued in some places and is starting to see increases in others. The vaccine rollout gives a lot of reason for hope, but hope doesn’t stop the virus and it’s way too soon to just declare victory and say it’s over.

McBride March 22, 2021 (9:31 am)

Perhaps worth noting, there’s a third vaccine locator website from the CDC (VaccineFinder) for pharmacies supplied through the Federal Pharmacy Program: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/reporting/vaccinefinder/about.html

WSB March 22, 2021 (9:42 am)

Thank you.

CarDriver March 22, 2021 (11:12 am)

woosah. Inslee is also “giving in” to ALL the businesses that have been suffering. Add them to your “covid denying rubes” list.

Pessoa March 22, 2021 (12:31 pm)

In the end, this year will be year of cruelty upon cruelty. Those who were least able to endure a pandemic, economically and otherwise, were crushed, while those with sizable assets and supportive environments didn’t – some even prospered. The old cliche is correct: The rich get richer.

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