How doctors are spending their holidays, planning for power outages, COVID economic and social impacts, this week at the Council, recycling tips, green stormwater infrastructure, The Neptune is 100 years old...

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 11/15/2021 07:04 PM PST

Banner image showing King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles.

November 15, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As we approach the holiday season and colder weather, you may be wondering how doctors and other medical professionals are planning to handle the holidays. Check out this article from Stat News: What would the public health experts do? STAT asked 28 about their holiday plans amid COVID-19.

Here in Washington, we hit a significant milestone last week, when the state Department of Health administered 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine across the state. With so many people fully vaccinated (and many having received their booster shots), my hope is that we may all be able to have a fairly normal holiday season.

I also wanted to remind everyone that with winds increasing in our area, we must all think ahead and prepare for potential power outages as well as falling branches and trees. As you know, winds can bring down power lines, and it is critically important to never approach or touch a downed power line. For more power outage safety tips in multiple languages see this King County webpage.

You may be aware that President Biden signed the infrastructure bill today. Our state, county and city – and our entire region – stand to benefit from the availability of increased funding for critical projects.

As always, I would like to hear from you. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.

All the best and I hope you are staying safe.

COVID-19 UPDATES

As of today, Public Health -- Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting these numbers for the last seven and last fourteen days:

- 1,980 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days (includes 1,823 confirmed cases and 157 probable cases. Total number of cases to date is 169,717). These numbers include 835 new cases since last Friday, November 12th, and an 18% decrease in the reported number of daily positive cases in the last seven days, over the prior 7 days.

- 26 new COVID-19-related deaths in the last two weeks (2,054 to date). That number includes 4 new deaths since last Friday, November 12th.

- 88 new hospitalizations in the last seven days (8,660 to date). That number includes 44 new hospitalizations since last Friday, November 12th.

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:

Among eligible King County residents 12 years and older, as of today, 89.7% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 83.9% have received both doses.

- View updated County vaccination data here.

- View COVID outcomes according to vaccination status here.

To view a breakdown of COVID-19 cases by race and ethnicity, 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 664,970; the number of probable cases is 90,041, for a total of 755,011 cases.

- The total number of deaths statewide is 8,990

- The total number of hospitalizations is 41,723

The graph below shows the cases in King County.

COVID AND OTHER UPDATES

Quote of the Day: “Our people are watching, and our people are taking note. Can there be peace and prosperity if one-third of the world lives in prosperity and two-thirds live underseas and face calamitous threats to our wellbeing?” - Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, last week at COP 26.

Study: “Non-white race” tied to higher risk for COVID infection, severity

A new study, which included a systematic review of U.S. data, shows that being of any race other than white is tied to a higher risk for COVID infection, severity, according to an article by CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy).

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, was designed to uncover the link between socioeconomic determinants of health and racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes. The study looked at 4.3 million patients analyzed in 68 cohort and cross-sectional studies and shows that, relative to white people, Black, Latinx, and Asian populations were at higher risk for COVID-19 infection and admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) but were less likely to die of the disease.

Question and Answer: If a child has COVID-19 symptoms at school or child care and is sent home, do siblings have to be sent home, too?

According to a new update on the County’s FAQs about schools and child care during COVID-19, siblings who do not have symptoms do not need to be quarantined or sent home, but a child with symptoms should be isolated, sent home and tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible.

Siblings and other family members of a child with symptoms should monitor their health and if any symptoms arise they should stay home from school or child care and be tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible. If the original sick child tests positive for COVID-19, that child must stay home and isolate. For more information see the above link or this infographic.

Updates from the COVID-19 Economic, Social & Overall Health Impacts Dashboard

Public Health’s last week updated its COVID-19 Economic, Social & Overall Health Impacts Dashboard. A few highlights from these updated data:

- Throughout September, calls to the County’s 211 crisis line for 'Housing' related needs steadily increased, with decreases starting in first half of October.

- There were 470,067 people enrolled in Medicaid in King County in September 2021. This is a 19% increase in Medicaid enrollment compared to January 2020.

- The number of Emergency Department (ED) visits involving domestic violence was 116 in September 2021. This is lower (but not statistically different) than the number in September 2019 (153 ED visits).

You may also find this study to be of interest: Cross-Sector Monitoring and Evaluation Framework: Social, Economic, and Health Conditions Impacted During the COVID-19 Pandemic – AJPH (American Journal of Public Health), by Public Health – Seattle & King County. The study explains how Public Health applied a monitoring and evaluation framework along with timely cross-sector data to analyze and share community-level health data for this project.

Indoor air improvements assistance available for some businesses and other organizations from the County

As we continue to resume routine activities, improving ventilation and indoor air quality are important steps to take to continue to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission and improve general health and well being. To request assistance on how you can improve your ventilation and indoor air quality, and to see if you may qualify for receipt of a HEPA air filtration unit, please fill out this assistance request form. Staff will respond as soon as possible. For more on improving ventilation and indoor air quality, see this page.

This week at the Council

Note: Council meetings are still being held remotely.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 16th at 9:30 a.m. – Budget and Fiscal Management Committee - Agenda: Action on third mid-biennial supplemental budget. Action regarding adopting a debt management policy for the County, repealing a fee for disposal of court exhibits used by the Department of Judicial Administration, and authorizing the Executive to enter into a loan agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology for loan financing for a wastewater capital project. Discussion and possible action on judicial administration fees, supplemental appropriations and authorizing the Executive to enter into an agreement with Bridge Housing Corporation and Community Roots Housing to develop and lease a portion of the Northgate Park and Pool lot for affordable housing and related purposes.