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:
- 18,905 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days (includes 18,292 confirmed cases and 613 probable cases. Total number of cases to date is 224,610). These numbers include 5,694 new cases since yesterday, January 5th. Wow!
- 24 new COVID-19-related deaths in the last two weeks (2,184 to date). That number includes 8 new deaths since yesterday, January 5th.
- 217 new hospitalizations in the last seven days (9,433 to date). That number includes 55 new hospitalizations since yesterday, January 5th.
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, 93.2% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 86.3% have received both doses. Among residents 5 years and older, as of today, 89.4% have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 82.1% 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 805,459; the number of probable cases is 108,521, for a total of 913,980 cases.
- The total number of deaths statewide is 9,974
- The total number of hospitalizations is 46,752
The graphs below shows the cases, hospitalizations and deaths in King County.
  
COVID AND OTHER UPDATES
Quote of the Day: “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” – Dr. Maya Angelou, as quoted in USA Today, March, 1988.
Gov. Inslee announces additional resources for Omicron variant
 As Washington state is experiencing a dramatic rise in COVID cases due to the Omicron variant, Gov. Jay Inslee announced steps yesterday to contain the spread. DOH has ordered an additional 5.5 million test kits. Inslee did not announce any rollbacks, restrictions or closures. Read the full story here. You can also view yesterday’s press conference here on TVW.
At home testing: What you need to know
 You may have heard that King County just purchased an additional 400,000 home COVID testing kits, bringing our total number in the County to 700,000. While these won’t be enough for all County residents, they will help communities and families during this surge, and the County is working to purchase more kits and expand capacity.
An at-home test is one of several options for testing for the COVID-19 virus. This kind of test is also known as a self-test or an over-the-counter (OTC) test. It is a rapid (antigen) test that you can use at home and get results within 15-30 minutes. Our state Department of Health (DOH) published this article which answers many questions about at-home tests. But it’s also important to note that home tests are not infallible, as noted in this article from Stat News.
After a positive at-home test result: Reporting and caring for yourself and others
In order to ensure we have accurate case counts, please report any positive results from an at-home test to the state DOH. The links below contain information on how to report your results and also, what steps to take once you have received a positive test result. DOH and Public Health are working together to to increase reporting capacity for positive test results.
One important note: Rapid self-tests are not accepted in these situations:
▪ To meet travel requirements
▪ To shorten quarantine times
▪ For entry to establishments requiring proof of vaccination
For detailed information on when to use the at-home tests (including for school or work, when a household member has been exposed or has COVID symptoms, before or after gatherings, and other instances) and what to do if your test is positive (first, stay home, isolate for at least five days and inform your close contacts), see these two links:
- King County self test instructions flyer
- What to do after a COVID-19 test – County webpage
If you need a place to stay during isolation call the King County COVID-19 call center: 206-477-3977. For assistance with groceries, bills or other needs while isolating call Care Coordination: 206-477-8260. You may also be interested in this article from The Seattle Times: King County to purchase 400,000 more COVID-19 test kits.
News on questions about usefulness of at-home testing
- Study raises doubts about rapid COVID tests’ reliability in early days after infection – Stat News
- Consider swabbing your nose — and throat — for rapid COVID tests, some experts say – McClatchy DC Bureau
- Will your at-home COVID test detect Omicron? New data raises concerns – The New York Times/The Seattle Times
Tomorrow at noon: King County Health Officer to provide update on continued increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations
Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer, Public Health – Seattle & King County, will brief the public and take questions from reporters tomorrow, January 7 at noon. He will discuss the continued increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The briefing will be livestreamed on the Public Health – Seattle & King County Facebook page @KCPubHealth.
Scientists identify antibodies that can neutralize omicron
A story from the UW reports, “An international team of scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. These antibodies target areas of the virus spike protein that remain essentially unchanged as the viruses mutate.” The findings could lead to more effective vaccines and new antibody treatments. Read the full story here.
The latest news on Omicron and schools
- Lakeview Elementary students must eat lunch outside during winter cold – Seattle Weekly
- Return from winter break has some school districts ramping up COVID-19 testing, vaccine efforts – Q13
- Schools sticking with in-person learning scramble for subs – AP News
- Chicago schools shut for 2nd day over virus safety protocols – AP News
New report tracks risk of COVID-19 reinfection in Washington state
Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has published a new, weekly report that provides insight into COVID-19 reinfections. This report includes information on hospitalizations and deaths, demographics, trends over time, and vaccination status of people with a reinfection where DOH has information about both infection events.
Reinfection means a person was infected once with the virus that causes COVID-19, recovered, and then later became infected again. A person with a reinfection could be fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, or unvaccinated. This report is located on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard: Washington State Department of Health and is updated weekly. Read the full story here.
County opens new isolation/quarantine site in Auburn
As part of County efforts to reduce soaring transmission rates and keep hospital beds available for people with acute needs, our Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is temporarily opening a COVID-19 isolation and quarantine facility in Auburn. The location offers 100 safe, clean, and comfortable rooms for people to safely isolate. Read the details here. You may also be interested in this story from KING 5 News: Isolation, quarantine site opens in Auburn as COVID-19 cases rise.
Statewide anti-human trafficking campaign launches
 Today, I was very pleased to join leaders from across the state to announce the launch of the #NotAlone campaign, a survivor-led, statewide anti-human trafficking campaign that will continue throughout the rest of the month. My quote along with others’ is included on this page. The video from today’s press conference is available here. Thank you @BEST for coordinating this important campaign. Trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion for labor and/or commercial sexual exploitation, and if you are currently experiencing something like this, you are #NotAlone. Please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733.
County elections update: Legislative priorities, new laws & upcoming elections
Councilmembers received an update from Elections Director Julie Wise on the department’s legislative priorities, the upcoming February special election and new laws taking effect this year.
Regarding state legislative priorities, the department is focused on passing legislation making it easier to resolve signature challenges, as well as the need to explicitly exempt voter’s signatures from public records requests. She also mentioned that we may see discussion in this year’s state legislative session about moving to entirely even-year elections and ranked choice voting.
The department is also working on the special election being held on February 8 which includes most school districts in the county. Ballots go out to military, overseas, and out of state voters this Friday and regular ballots will be mailed Wednesday, January 19. In addition, fifteen jurisdictions have measures on the ballot.
Wise also updated Councilmembers on new laws taking effect this year that will impact our elections in Washington State. As of January 1, individuals on community custody are now eligible to vote. Another law taking effect this year makes 17 year-olds eligible to vote in Primary Elections if they will be 18 years old by the General Election. Director Wise estimates that this will impact more than 1,600 potential King County voters.
Finally, King County’s two non-standard elections are scheduled to fall in the beginning of 2022 – drainage district and conservation district elections. The County will once again be assisting the King Conservation District (KCD – not part of King County government) with ballot processing starting this month. KCD’s online platform for ballot access will go live on Tuesday, January 18 and Election Day will be February 8, consistent with our February Special Election. Because only a single candidate filed for the contracted drainage district elections, the Elections department will not be conducting a February drainage district election and those single filers will be “deemed elected” per state law.
Voting rights under attack: Webinar on January 21st
The Washington Institute for the Study of Inequality and Race at the University of Washington will be hosting a Webinar Series on Race and Contemporary Issues in the 2021-2022 academic year. On January 21, from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., the panel will discuss the current state of voting rights in the U.S, recent attacks on voting rights, as well as look ahead to the future.
All events are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Important note: Instructions and a link to log into Zoom for this event will be sent to registered attendees closer to the actual event day.
Apply now for King County Conservation Futures 2023 Funding
King County Conservation Futures (CFT) grants are used to buy or conserve parks and open spaces used for low-impact passive recreation such as urban greenspaces, natural areas, forests, community gardens, farms, and trails. CFT grants can be awarded to cities, the county, park districts, and eligible 501c3 nonprofit nature conservancies and historic preservation associations.
Applications for open space acquisition funding are due on March 8th. Visit the Conservation Futures application webpage for details, application, process, schedule, and policy guidance. For more information about Conservation Futures see this page.
U.S. lags in child care funding
This article in Crosscut discusses a crucial issue that has enormous impact on working parents – in particular women. At the start of the pandemic, in March 2020, the Council approved $2.2m for emergency child care for first responders and other essential workers during COVID-19 Crisis and the renewal of the Best Starts for Kids levy allowed the County to invest additional funds. But the lack of affordable child care remains a key impediment for working parents.
- Why child care in the U.S. lags behind much of the world - Crosscut
Saturday at 10 a.m.: The dirt on soil, compost, and mulch
 This winter, King County Wastewater Treatment Division is partnering with the Snohomish Conservation District to offer an online series of six live classes, and one pre-recorded class focused on creating a healthy, low-maintenance landscape. These classes will be geared towards those who are new to the concepts of sustainable yard care practices.
The first class coming up this Saturday, January 8, from 10 – 11:30 a.m is “Laying a Healthy Foundation: The dirt on soil, compost, and mulch.” Learn from soil professionals about the components of a healthy soil system and how to make it work better for your landscape. They will also teach how to improve the soil by creating compost and mulch systems and applying it effectively to your yard. Learn more and register here.
To see the full list of upcoming classes and for more details, see this page.
For information and resources on gardening, native plants, natural yard care, rain barrels and more, see this King County page.
Tips and tricks for finally getting rid of those old electronics
 Electronic waste (e-waste) is any old electronic device that is no longer useable or working, including outdated computers, cellphones, televisions, light bulbs, and batteries. See this article from the County’s Hazardous Waste Management Program for details on how to safely dispose of e-waste.
Kraken’s One Roof Foundation helps kids of all ages
 Councilmember Rod Dembowski and I deliver check to fund youth sports programs
The Kraken’s philanthropic arm, One Roof Foundation, focuses on using ice skating, hockey and the new facility in north Seattle to help young people, in particular those experiencing homelessness.
They also help children, as young as 3 – 5 years old, as shown in a recent message from the Refugee Women’s Alliance (reWA), which included the following comments: “Many of our students have never been ice skating before... At the first lesson, many of our students were afraid to move around on the ice. Now that they have been coming weekly and with the coaches support children are starting to skate with the cones on their own... The children from ReWA have been enjoying their weekly ice-skating lessons with the Kraken coaches. The coaches are wonderful and have been very patient with the 3- to 5-year-olds.”
I was so pleased to see this message and to know that King County helped make this happen. My colleague, Councilmember Rod Dembowski and I last year each provided $25,000 from our district Youth Athletic Sports grants. The funding is helping children gain confidence, improve their English, get exercise and participate in the larger community.
Youth submissions for Lantern Project Zine: Deadline is January 17th
The Lantern Project aims to end sexual exploitation in our communities by changing culture through prevention, intervention, & transformation. It is working with young people ages 12 – 25 to create a zine with the theme "What does your world look like?" They are taking submissions - which can be either art or a written piece - until January 17th. For more information contact Abby Bentley with The Lantern Project's Youth Leadership Board at abby@thelanternproject.org.
Additional helpful and informative links
- WHO: Record weekly jump in COVID-19 cases but fewer deaths – AP News
- Live: Coronavirus daily news updates, January 6: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – The Seattle Times
- US hospitals seeing different kind of COVID surge this time – AP News
- When will the omicron wave peak in the U.S.? – Fast Company
- New COVID variant ‘IHU’ with 46 mutations detected in France – New York Daily News
- Why should I get vaccinated if people who have been vaccinated are getting COVID? – The Seattle Medium
- Small businesses grapple with COVID-19 omicron variant surge in western Washington – KING 5 News
- Omicron surge vexes parents of children too young for shots – AP News
- U.S. urges COVID boosters starting at age 12 to fight omicron – AP/The Seattle Times
- Grants available for King County businesses near COVID sites - Patch
- UW Medicine Newsroom’s 21 most-viewed stories in 2021 – UW Medicine News
- The Seattle area faces rising domestic violence rates. This organization is working to combat it – The Seattle Times
- Health care and homelessness: Harrell takes first steps as Seattle mayor - KUOW
- Here are the pioneering women who will be on new quarters – 19thnews.org
Today’s moment of inspiration
 Photo: Casey Holihan Noe / Facebook: Ron Hill, a truck driver for Schmidt Baking Company, opened up the back of the truck to distribute loaves of bread and rolls to people stranded on icy I-95 in Virginia on Tuesday / Yahoo
This is a must-read story about people coming together in a crisis. You’ve almost certainly heard about the hundreds of people stranded for more than 30 hours in freezing weather on I-95 in Virginia.
Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe were two of those people, and they were stuck behind a bread truck from Schmidt Baking Company. According to Yahoo, “They called the company's customer service line and left a message asking if it was possible for the driver to open the truck and give some loaves of bread to them and others.
Holihan was then surprised to receive a phone call 20 minutes later from the owner of Baltimore-based H&S Bakery, which owns Schmidt Baking Company. Chuck Paterakis told her he was instructing the truck's driver, Ron Hill, to open up the back and pass out some food.
"We just kept giving it out until we couldn’t walk anymore because it was so freezing,” Holihan told NBC affiliate WBAL. "It felt incredible just hearing people say thank you and hearing people just so relieved to finally have food in their car, food in their system and in their kids’ system. It was a really incredible feeling." Read the full story here.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I am now sending out on Mondays and Thursdays. 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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