COVID-19 UPDATES
NOTE: As of August 10th, the state Department of Health continues to have a large backlog of lab results. Although positive results are up to date, there remain a large number of negative test results that have not yet been reported from July 28 - August 10th. The DOH anticipates receiving fewer test results and that the test positivity rate will be overestimated while the backlog is addressed.
As of today, Public Health -- Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting these daily numbers (since yesterday):
- 960 new positive cases of COVID-19 (includes 893 confirmed cases and 67 probable cases. Total number of cases to date is 137,267). See note above!
- 1 new COVID-19-related death (1,772 to date)
- 23 new hospitalizations (7,365 to date)
To see the progression of the virus in King County since our last newsletter, you can view screenshots of the Daily Dashboard here. Note the correct date appears when you click on the document (one day earlier than is listed). The data are not updated over the weekends.
Vaccination rates in King County: As of today, 84.7% of King County residents 16 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 78.7% have received both doses.
Among all eligible residents (those 12 years and older), as of today, 84.1% of King County residents 12 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 77.9% have received both doses.
To view updated County vaccination data, see this page: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data/vaccination.aspx
To view a breakdown of COVID-19 cases by race and ethnicity (updated on Mondays), click this link. Click here to view the “Key Indicators” data dashboard.
Statewide, according to the state Department of Health (DOH), as of today:
-The number of confirmed positive cases is 512,162; the number of probable cases is 59,306, for a total of 571,468 cases.
- The total number of deaths statewide is 6,643
- The total number of hospitalizations is 31,671
COVID AND OTHER UPDATES
Quote of the Day: “The Court’s order is stunning. Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of Justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand.” – Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissenting, in Whole Woman’s Health et al v. Austin Reeve Jackson, Judge, et al, September 1, 2021
King County requires masks at large outdoor gatherings with new Health Officer order
As new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surge, King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin has issued a Local Health Officer Order requiring masks at any outdoor event with 500 or more people in attendance. This requirement applies to all people, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, 5 years of age and older. Masks will continue to be required for everyone 5 and older in indoor public settings, such as grocery stores, malls, gyms, and community centers. This requirement supports Washington's statewide indoor mask mandate.
The Order also strongly recommends that masks be worn in all other outdoor settings where people cannot remain six feet apart from non-household members. For more details, see the press release here, or see this article in The Seattle Times: King County to require masks at large outdoor gatherings, regardless of COVID vaccination status.
Dr. Duchin held a press conference earlier this afternoon to announce the order. He was joined by Dr. Steve Mitchell, Director of Emergency Services at Harborview Medical Center. You can view the press conference here on Public Health’s Facebook page.
You can also read more at the Public Health Insider blog: Masks required at large outdoor gatherings in King County, strongly recommended in other outdoor settings.
Surgical masks reduce COVID-19 spread, large-scale study shows
 According to an article in Stanford Medicine News, a large, randomized trial led by researchers at Stanford Medicine and Yale University has found that wearing a surgical face mask over the mouth and nose is an effective way to reduce the occurrence of COVID-19 in community settings. See the link above for full details.
You may also be interested in this article from the Associated Press (AP News): State mask bans face federal civil rights inquiries.
The latest news on kids, COVID and schools:
- The Latest: Missouri doctors fear new child COVID-19 wave – AP News
- Seattle Children’s confirms its first patient death from COVID – The Seattle Times
- Children's hospitals are pleading for federal help as they run out of beds - KUOW
- As schools reopen, child psychiatrists expect to see a surge of kids who need help - KUOW
- Editorial: Be a school-supply MVP – The Seattle Times
- Here's what back-to-school will look like in Seattle – KUOW
- Another strange year of school begins for Seattle-area kids, this time in person - The Seattle Times
The latest news on COVID-19
- CDC asks the unvaccinated not to travel this weekend and says even vaccinated need to weigh the risk – CNN
- U.S. hospitals hit with nurse staffing crisis amid COVID – AP News
- Vaccination reduces risk of long COVID, even when people are infected, U.K. study indicates – Stat News
- Worried about breakthrough infections? Here’s how to navigate this phase of the pandemic. – The New York Times
- Moderna has asked the FDA to authorize a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine - NPR
- When will the delta surge end? - The New York Times
- Demand high, wait time up to an hour at some COVID-19 testing sites – KIRO 7 News
- Vaccine-hesitant Washingtonians open up about their fears – Crosscut
- Opinion: Vashon Island Fire and Rescue in crisis – Vashon Beachcomber
- Washington State Fair to require masks indoors and outdoors, regardless of COVID vaccination status – The Seattle Times
- Hospital Association says going to big events like the Washington State Fair is a ‘bad idea’ - Eater
One example of the effectiveness of vaccines
 A team at Swedish put together the infographic above, to reiterate what the science supports: Vaccines are still highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and severe complications from COVID-19. If you haven’t done it yet, don’t wait. Get vaccinated now.
Centering Community Voices: Rainier Valley Midwives
 The authors, Tara Lawal and Jodilyn Owen, of Rainier Valley Midwives.
Public Health has been featuring the voices of members of the Pandemic and Racism Community Advisory Group (PARCAG) on the Public Health Insider blog. You may be interested in this latest piece from Rainier Valley Midwives, discussing their work and how it has been impacted by the pandemic.
“When COVID-19 hit our region last year, we saw immediately just how dangerous it could be for our clients. Rainier Valley Midwives (RVM) works with pregnant people and their families to improve parent and infant health outcomes in the Seattle area. We knew this disease would exacerbate the racial inequities that we confront every day — the same glaring disparities that lead to less accessible prenatal care and more preterm births in the populations we serve.
One sobering example: Black and Indigenous pregnant people in King County experience infant mortality rates two and three times as high as the county at large.” Read the full story here.
Speeding up rental assistance distribution in King County
You may have read recently about delays in distributing rental assistance taking place across the country. These delays have been especially problematic as the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the federal eviction moratorium about a week ago. (Although our state and city moratoria remain in place through September 30th.)
For a full update on distributing rental assistance funds from the County’s Department of Community and Health Services (DCHS), see this very informative post: Increasing the speed of rental assistance.
You may also be interested in reading a letter U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent to states and local jurisdictionsfollowing the Supreme Court’s eviction decision, emphasizing the need to continue to work to avoid evictions. King County’s Eviction Prevention and Rent Assistance Program (EPRAP) is working urgently to increase payments to tenants and landlords across King County. Since January 2021, EPRAP has paid a total of $22.6M in rental assistance, serving 3,404 households. That amount is on top of the $40 million distributed in 2020. The lengthy delay in getting all the funding has been a result of having to build a computer program to manage applications and payments. Earlier it was all done manually.
King County remains grateful to United Way and the coalition of community-based organizations and property owners that are working together to prevent homelessness for tens of thousands of residents throughout the region who are at risk of eviction due to COVID-19 related financial hardships. You may be interested in the following articles:
- About 89% of rental assistance funds have not been distributed, figures show – The New York Times
- Anxious tenants await assistance as evictions resume – AP News
- Even with the eviction moratorium, landlords continued to find ways to kick renters out — The Conversation
- King County lags on rental assistance distribution just weeks before eviction ban expires – KING 5 News
An update on Courthouse safety and City Hall Park
As I mentioned in our last e-newsletter, I’ve concluded that for the public safety and accessibility, it would be best for King County to officially own City park. The park borders the county courthouse and downtown civic campus and directly affects people accessing county services. I explained my reasoning in my Op-Ed published Tuesday in The Seattle Times: Ensuring public safety at City Hall Park may rest with King County.
On Tuesday, August 31st, Patrick Oishi, Assistant Presiding Judge at King County Superior Court, updated the Council’s Community, Health and Housing (CHHS) Committee on safety issues at the Courthouse. Certainly, not all safety problems at the Courthouse have been linked to the former encampment at City Hall Park; however, many have been and that was one factor – though not the only one – in partnering with the City to relocate the Park residents.
The video from Judge Oishi’s presentation is not posted yet, but will be available shortly at this link. Be sure to look for the video from the August 31st meeting. You may also be interested in this editorial from today’s The Seattle Times: Keep Seattle parks free of tents after encampment removals.
An update on the November election
 According to an update provided to Councilmembers by e-mail, the County Elections Department is projecting a 46% turnout for the November general election. Regular ballots will be mailed out to voters on October 13.
It is still unclear whether or not the Seattle Charter Amendment will appear on the ballot. A judge struck down the measure on Friday and the Compassion Seattle organization filed an appeal yesterday. This is putting enormous pressure on Election Department staff as the ballot must be to the County’s print vendor by September 9 to meet the legal mailing deadline for overseas and service voters. In addition, all ballots must be translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese, and of course, there’s a lot of proof-reading!
Election Director Julie Wise also let Councilmembers know that the department won an award for Outstanding Use of Technology at the Elections Center National Conference. The award was for the Esri app suite that was built for the ballot drop box program, which allows Election Department leads and supervisors to see routes and ballot collection data in real-time, standardize processes, and automate data entry.
According to Wise, “Using the Esri platform has increased the output of ballot collection (driver) teams, reduced costs, improved record keeping, increased the ability of KCE to nimbly coordinate a large team of drivers while out in the field, and allowed for more informed decision-making when allocating resources.”
Metro improving and restoring service as Sound Transit Link light rail expands to Northgate on October 2nd
 Big changes are coming to transit service starting October 2nd as Metro launches updated connections to three new Sound Transit Link light rail stations in North Seattle. Metro also will restore 36 previously suspended bus routes across the County, add hundreds of bus trips, and revise and improve other service in partnership with City of Seattle.
Metro is encouraging riders to review the revised bus connections for the new Northgate, Roosevelt and U District Link light rail stations, and take note of the restored service planned across King County. Details are available on Metro’s service change webpage.
You may also find this article of interest: King County Metro using new measures to increase safety and security – Mass Transit
A visit to Queen Anne Helpline
 A couple of weeks ago I was pleased to stop by the Queen Anne Helpline and chat with Executive Director Cara Lauer. We recently allocated $50,000 in federal ARPA funds to support the Helpline’s work in serving the Uptown, Queen Anne, Interbay and South Lake Union neighborhoods. From providing rental assistance and grocery delivery to assistance securing food, clothing and transit, the Queen Anne Helpline is doing crucial work to serve Council District Four. Thank you for your service!
DID YOU KNOW?
... that, according to HistoryLink, on September 2, 1869, Seattle pioneer David Denny killed what was likely to have been the last elk in Seattle, near Green lake? The elk weighed 630 pounds.
Additional helpful and informative links
- We’re better than this,’ Seattle’s interim police chief says of ongoing spike in gun violence – The Seattle Times
- Opinion: City response to gun violence spike lacks compassion, new ideas – South Seattle Emerald
- Effort underway to rescue girls soccer team from Afghanistan – AP News
- Afghan refugees face a dire need for affordable rental housing in high-priced Seattle - The Seattle Times
- 'This is likely to be a deadly threat': What can we do to survive the next heat wave? - KNKX
- Photos show black slick in water near Gulf oil rig after Ida – AP News
- Death toll tops 30 after Ida's remnants blindside Northeast – AP News
- With moratorium on utility shut-offs ending soon, Washington officials urge customers to make a plan - The Seattle Times
- As Seattle recovers from COVID-19 pandemic, City Hall asks residents what they want from parks - The Seattle Times
- King County considers hate crime hotline amid rise in racist attacks – KUOW
- A light show, outdoor festival and Seattle Center concert aim to draw people back to downtown Seattle – The Seattle Times
- King County seeing record number of fentanyl deaths this year – Q13 Fox
Today’s moment of inspiration
 Photo from CNN
Today’s Moment is another example of someone seeing a need and then figuring out a way to fill it. Jeff Feingold is a father of two who believes it’s important to teach your children the importance of giving back to the community. In 2010, he was dropping off donations at a local children’s shelter when he learned about the need for basic items such as shampoo, soap and toothpaste.
"The social worker told me that hygiene products were hard to get, and food stamps didn't cover them," Feingold said, according to this CNN story.
According to CNN, that conversation led to Feingold starting “...Hope & Comfort, a non-profit that distributes hygiene products to Massachusetts-based organizations -- helping to provide necessities that are often costly for non-profits and shelters to obtain for their clients. It began out of his garage, with Feingold purchasing items to donate and his children helping him sort and pack them.”
In 2020 the organization donated more than 2 million products, including 650,000 bars of soap.
Feingold told CNN, “In 2021, we've put a target to distribute 2 million items, including more than a million bars of soap. And we've said, "Soap for everyone" -- for anyone who needs a bar of soap during Covid in Massachusetts, we want to be here for those people to keep them healthy and safe and confident.”
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I am now sending out on Mondays and Thursdays. (And, again, I will send one out next Monday on Labor Day.) Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here. And you can click here to visit the archive page where you can find all of my previous enews updates.
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