Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I hope you all have had a restful, peaceful and healthy weekend. This will be an abbreviated weekend COVID-19 update. If something urgent arises before tomorrow’s update, I will be sure to let you know.
The rest of this e-newsletter is meant to provide you with an update on some of the other issues on which I’ve been working as well as on helpful information related to the COVID-19 crisis. As always, I would like to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or comments. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.
All the best,
Latest numbers from Public Health
As of this update, Public Health is reporting 109 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County (5172 total) and 6 new COVID-19 related deaths (346 total). While we do seem to be flattening the curve, it is still vitally important that we practice social distancing and limit excursions to only essential trips.
Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19 are available on Public Health’s data dashboard. And, interestingly, you can click on your zip code to learn of the number of “positive” cases and fatalities where you reside.
As of April 18th, there have been 11,802 confirmed cases and 624 deaths in Washington state.
Also, and again, here is an excellent website that offers real-time COVID-19 data in clear formats, broken down by country and state: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
COVID-19 update from the University of Washington
UW Virology Update
Recently, I received an update from the University of Washington that I thought many of you may be interested in, so I’m sharing it with you. Below, you’ll find several graphs illustrating the testing that’s been done by UW and information around hospital admissions.
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April 16, 2020 – 12% positive rate
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Total tests on 4/16/20: 1,755
Positive/Inconclusive: 210
Negative: 1,555
UW Virology currently provides over 50% of all COVID-19 testing for Washington state. To view UW Virology’s COVID-19 dashboard, click here.
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UW MEDICINE COVID-19 INPATIENT CASES
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April 16, 2020
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UW Medicine inpatients who are COVID-19 positive: 121
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The chart above shows the number of COVID-19 positive patients at UW Medicine hospitals over time. Though not inclusive of all cases in the region, these numbers provide a proxy for how the pandemic is progressing in the Puget Sound.
State funds community-based program to ensure COVID-19 information gets to hard-to-reach communities
In an effort to make sure all Washingtonians have the information they need to stay healthy, the state is funding a $500,000 community-based outreach campaign. Community-rooted organizations will provide emergency language and outreach services to groups disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but less likely to be receiving timely information through government agencies and traditional news media. Read the full release.
Reminder: Washington 211 COVID-19 Call Center
Do you need information or answers to your questions and concerns about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)? You can call 1-800-525-0127 or text 211-211 for help. You can also text the word “Coronavirus” to 211-211 to receive information and updates on your phone wherever you are. You will receive links to the latest information on COVID-19, including county-level updates, and resources for families, businesses, students, and more.
Some helpful, informative and inspiring links
Today’s moment of levity
First, a note on this section. While I continually receive comments from subscribers that they love this section, let’s face it – what one person finds humorous, another does not. And a few have let me know they’re offended that moments of humor are included at all during this global pandemic during which time so many people have become gravely ill or have died. Please be assured I do not in any way mean to offend but, rather, am trying to keep some sanity through the use of humor in this absolutely insane time we’re experiencing. Please just do not read this section if you are bothered by it.
And, now, for today’s. If you’ve been following my newsletters, you may have already seen two episodes of “Some Good News,” an uplifting new show from the actor John Krasinski. Today’s moment of levity is the third episode in this series, with more uplifting anecdotal content and a nice and actually inspiring feature on some health care workers and patients, along with some special guests from the Red Sox! Whether you’re a Red Sox fan or not, I hope that this will bring you some joy as it did for me. Watch the full 18-minute episode here: https://www.facebook.com/JohnKrasinski/videos/baseball-is-back-some-good-news-with-john-krasinski-ep-3/942189992851023/
Archive of my eNews editions
If you're looking for past editions of this newsletter, you can find them all right here: https://www.kingcounty.gov/council/kohl-welles/News/eNewsletters/covid-enews.aspx
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my update. You can expect ones to continue being sent out on a daily basis, sometimes more than one. Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here.
Finally, to prevent these updates from going straight to spam or junk folders, I encourage you to mark this email address as a “safe sender” by adding the email address to your contacts or address book. And be sure to check your spam folder if you think you may have missed an update.
And please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns and, most importantly, be well.
-Jeanne
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