King County COVID-19 updates for April 12, 2021

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 04/12/2021 08:36 PM PDT

COVID-19 vaccine appointments are open this week in Auburn and Kent for South King county residents ages 18+

This week, Auburn appointments are Johnson & Johnson vaccine only, and Kent appointments are Moderna vaccine only.

For other locations, check the frequently updated Washington State Dept. of Health Vaccine Locator for vaccines sites near your zip code.

Eight important pieces of advice from Dr. Jeff Duchin, Chief Health Officer of Public Health - Seattle & King County

  1. What does remaining in Phase 3 of the Governor's Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery mean for King County?
    Don't let your guard down! This is definitely not an "all clear" signal. We don't stop wearing seatbelts just because we haven't had a crash recently.

  2. We are MUCH closer to putting the worst of the pandemic behind us, but not quite out of danger yet.
    The potential for a severe surge in cases & hospitalizations remains real until more of us are vaccinated.

  3. For the time being, we all need to continue taking COVID-19 precautions seriously.
    This will protect us, our family members, friends, co-workers, our community and our economy as vaccinations increase.

  4. Washington state entered Phase 3 on March 22 allowing more activities/gatherings while cases and more contagious and severe variants were rising.
    Hospitalizations followed, primarily in younger adults. For now, we've leveled off near the "Phase 2" cutoffs - where we go next is up to us.

  5. Thankfully, there are fewer cases, hospitalizations and deaths in people 65 and older because most have been vaccinated.
    But it's a real possibility that many more people could be infected in a surge, just when we're close to being able to protect most people through vaccination.

  6. It's important to prevent COVID-19 in all ages, not just older adults.
    Although most people recover, infections can be severe and cause long-term health effects in middle-aged & younger people. Just because you can do it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

  7. To protect yourself, your family, friends, co-workers & community, remember:
    • COVID-19 is airborne
    • Limit indoor activities outside home
    • Avoid crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces
    • Avoid gathering indoors with unvaccinated people who do not live in the home

  8. Pay special attention to improving ventilation/air quality in workplaces, businesses, public spaces, home.
    • Wear a well-made/snug fitting mask when around unvaccinated people and in public spaces
    • Maintain physical distance from others
    • Get vaccinated as soon as you can!

New COVID-19 data dashboard for schools

This new dashboard is part of the Economic, social and overall health impacts collection of related dashboards.

New travel recommendations during COVID-19 webpage

King County is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) travel recommendations. This page provides general guidance along with local recommendations for travelers.

  • Total positive counts in King County: 91,715
    • New counts since yesterday: 277 at overall 4.2% of all tests

  • Total hospitalizations in King County: 5,449
    • New hospitalizations since yesterday: 3 at 5.9% of all positive cases

  • Total deaths due to COVID-19 illness in King County: 1,483
    • New deaths since yesterday: 0 at 1.6% of all positive cases

  • Total count of all test results: 2,187,618
    • New test results since yesterday: 1,461

  • Total count of people tested in King County: 992,006
    • New count of people tested since yesterday: 319

All other COVID-19 dashboards are posted at www.kingcounty.gov/covid/data

View COVID-19 daily email alerts online posted in the past week.