As King County continues its first week of limited reopening of some businesses and recreational activities, Public Health reminds us to continue following physical distancing and infection control practices to help prevent an increase in COVID-19 cases. They also announced expanded data available on the COVID-19 dashboard. Further details available in today’s update on the Public Health Insider.
Also today, Public Health offered 3 tips on how to add face coverings to your daily routine, and published an interview with State Long Term Care Ombuds Patricia Hunter with information about testing in long-term care facilities.
Thanks to community working together, we are slowing the spread of COVID-19 and are working to gradually and carefully reopen the local economy.On Friday, the Washington State Department of Health approved King County for a modified Phase 1 of the Governor’s Safe Start reopening plan.
Also announced Friday, Additional free COVID-19 testing sites are opening in Seattle and other local cities. Public Health – Seattle & King County urges anyone with mild COVID-19 symptoms or who has been in close contact with someone ill with COVID-19 to contact a healthcare provider to discuss testing. Also, King County was approved for modified phase one of reopening. Further details are all available in Friday’s update on the Public Health Insider.
Otherwise, this daily synthesis of the Public Health data is provided by Will Daugherty of Pacific Science Center. Thanks Will!
Public Health has updated the data dashboard. The daily summary shows that there were 8,536 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in King County as of 11:59 on June 8, 29 more than the previous day. There have been 570 confirmed deaths in King County due to COVID-19, 6.7% of all confirmed cases. The numbers that Public Health reports each day include delayed results from previous days.
The first graph shows new cases (blue bars) and the 7-day average (red line). Of the 29 new cases reported today, 20 were confirmed yesterday and the remaining 9 were confirmed in previous days. The 7-day average of new cases per day peaked at 194 on April 1. The average for the last 7 days is now 38 new cases per day, down from 43 one week ago. The 7-day average has declined 12% in the last week and increased 2% in the last two weeks.
The key indicators that the State and County are using to make decisions about reopening include a measure of the total number of cases reported in the previous 14 days per 100K residents. The target for this metric is less than 25. The second and third graphs below show this metric.
The second graph goes back to March 12, the fourteenth day of reported cases. The third graph (below) provided a more detailed view of results since May 22. During the 14-day period May 26 – June 8, 25 cases were reported per 100K residents.
Note: The key indicators dashboard currently reports 24 cases reported per 100K residents during the 14-day period ending June 7. I am puzzled by this. When I use the number of cases that Public Health has reported for each day during this period (559) and the number of King County residents that Public Health appears to be using to calculate ratios (see the fourth graphic pasted below), I get 25.1 cases per 100K residents during the 14-day period ending June 7. Yes, 24 vs. 25 is a very small discrepancy. At the same time, it is right at the threshold at which the metric is red or green.
Will Daugherty welcomes your questions and comments. His email is wdaugherty@pacsci.org