COVID-19 Data Updates
To see the most up-to-date information on cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the County, see the Daily COVID-19 outbreak summary dashboard. You can also see the data broken down by demographics and geography on this page.
- 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.
To view the most recent statewide COVID-19 data from the state Department of Health (DOH), see this dashboard, which will now be updated three times per week rather than daily.
The graphs below show the cases, hospitalizations and deaths in King County. It is apparent that as the cases are dropping rapidly, the death rate, while dropping, is not going down nearly as quickly as the case numbers. The hospitalization chart is interesting, as this may reflect the difficulty in discerning which patients are admitted for COVID, as opposed to patients admitted for another issue who then test positive (in other words, a patient with COVID).
  
Quote of the Day:
“The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination...” - Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
COVID News
Interview with FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock on monoclonal antibodies and children’s COVID vaccines
The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that it is limiting use of two monoclonal antibody drugs for COVID that do not work against the Omicron variant — a step that many thought was overdue. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock spoke with Stat News about what comes next for the regulation of COVID drugs and vaccines. Read the interview here.
The latest news on the Omicron variant
 - Omicron drives US deaths higher than in fall’s delta wave – AP News
- When omicron isn’t so mild – The New York Times/The Seattle Times
- Omicron amps up concerns about long COVID and its causes – AP News
- Early data indicate vaccines still protect against Omicron’s sister variant, BA.2 – Stat News
- Virologist explains the science of immune protection against ‘stealth omicron’ – MyNorthwest
- Omicron’s economic toll: missing workers, more uncertainty and higher inflation (maybe) – The New York Times/The Seattle Times
The latest news on Omicron’s impact on schools
 - Cyberattacks increasingly hobble pandemic-weary US schools – AP News
- Real or not, threats of violence have serious consequences in Seattle schools – The Seattle Times
- After 2 years, growing calls to take masks off children in school – NPR
- Omicron has states rethinking 'broken' school COVID testing - Politico
- UW and Seattle students returning to in-person classes – KIRO 7
- Editorial: In Our View: Invest in teachers to aid schools’ COVID rebound – The Columbian
- Over 1,000 Wichita school workers out because of COVID-19 – Seattle P-I
- Update on Washington state K–12 Education System (January 7th) – Annual address by State schools superintendent Chris Reykdal
Video: How to do a COVID-19 self-test using a BinaxNow test kit
 You may be interested in this short, one-minute how-to video on administering COVID self-tests. The video is now available from the CDC in multiple languages, including American Sign Language.
King County’s COVID response singled out for national award
Our region was the first in the nation to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic is by no means over, the work of King County to slow the spread, prevent infection, and reduce deaths has been recognized by American City & County (AC&C) with the 2021 Crown Communities Award.
King County was singled out by AC&C for our enterprise-wide strategy against COVID-19. The County stood up a comprehensive pandemic response from day one, with a focus on equity to ensure that those communities most impacted by the virus had access to the resources to keep everyone healthy.
County Business and Other News and Events
This week at the Council
Note: Council meetings are still being held remotely.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1st at 9:30 a.m. – Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee. Agenda: Action on ordinances relating to the Children and Youth Advisory Board and Best Starts for Kids governance and levy advisory board. Update from King County Sheriff’s Office on recruitment of new Sheriff and transition planning. Briefing from the County’s Department of Public Defense, the Corrections Guild and advocates on the pandemic experience of incarcerated people. Briefing from the County’s Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and Superior Court on pandemic response in the County’s legal system.
To view the agenda and meeting materials and to offer public comment, see this page.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1st at 1 p.m. – Full Council. Agenda: Public hearing on ordinances regarding property taxes and the capital budgeting process. Action on appointments and job descriptions for positions within the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight.
To view the agenda and meeting materials and to offer public comment, see this page.
Wednesday, February 2nd at 9:30 a.m. – Committee of the Whole. Agenda: Briefing on COVID response from County Budget Director Dively. Discussion and possible action on appointment to the 4Culture board and a motion requesting the Executive to establish an equitable development initiative (EDI) and prepare an implementation plan. A reminder: I am now the Chair of the committee.
To view the agenda and meeting materials and to offer public comment, see this page.
Wednesday, February 2nd at 3 p.m. – Regional Water Quality Committee. Agenda: Discussion of the regional water quality committee work plan. Briefing on the state Department of Ecology’s issuance of final Puget Sound Nutrients General Permit restricting nutrient discharges into Puget Sound.
To view the agenda and meeting materials and to offer public comment, see this page.
Reminder: Get your ballot in now for the February 8th election
 There are important school ballot measures up for a vote in the February 8th election. There is also an election for King Conservation District (KCD, not part of King County government) for a position on the Board of Supervisors, which is being administered by King County Elections. (There is current legislation before the Legislature to have KCD elections be held on the county elections.) For more information on these two elections see the links below:
- Full information on the February 8th election – King County webpage
- Information on the King Conservation District (KCD) election – KCD webpage
And see this page for complete information on voting and elections in King County.
Planning ahead to treat wastewater
 King County has some of the largest wastewater treatment plants in the country. It takes a decade or more to build large wastewater projects, so planning is crucial.
Recently, the County launched a new program called “Treatment Planning,” through which County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) staff identify what is needed to efficiently clean water and recover resources at County treatment plants – including policies, capital projects, and funding. Read the full story here. For more information on the WTD, check out the website here.
Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.: Scientists aboard King County research vessel will deploy buoy to study underwater noise of Puget Sound – watch live on Youtube
 Two Southern Resident killer whales. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
You may know that marine mammals have been increasingly stressed by underwater noise in Puget Sound. Marine mammals use vocalizations to hunt and communicate, and the underwater noise from human activities – on top of chemical pollutants, overfishing and climate change – are harming mammals in the Sound, including orcas.
Tomorrow morning, marine mammal scientists from SMRU Consulting will deploy a buoy into Puget Sound from King County’s research vessel SoundGuardian to measure underwater noise from vessels that pose risks to southern resident orcas. The study will help increase the frequency and quality of reports of orca sightings provided to pilots of large vessels so they can voluntarily slow down or change course, reducing the amount of underway noise and preventing collisions. You can watch the buoy being deployed tomorrow live here on Youtube.
Transit alternatives are available for riders where routes are temporarily suspended
 King County Metro continues to recover from recent winter storms and ongoing reduced workforce availability. While more than 90% of our scheduled bus service is operating, it is extending its temporary reduced service schedule.
While some specific trips of a route will be canceled, most of the 160 bus routes will operate. The exceptions are that routes 162, 177, 304, 320, and 330 will not run on weekdays, and route 125 will not run on Saturdays.
Before traveling, Metro wants to make sure you know whether your trip is operating or canceled. Before you go, use Metro’s Next Departures tool or text your bus stop number to 62550 to check the status of your trip. Sign up for transit alerts here.
Heads up: Attend an online public meeting in March for your neighborhood on Sound Transit’s West Seattle and Ballard Link extensions
 Learn more about the project in your neighborhood of interest at an upcoming online meeting. You will have the opportunity to learn about the project, get questions answered, and provide a verbal comment on Sound Transit’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Each online meeting will include a brief presentation, Q&A session, and oral testimony captured by a court reporter. Here is the meeting schedule:
- Interbay/Ballard: March 15th, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
- Downtown: March 22nd, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- CID/SODO: March 24th, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- West Seattle/Delridge: March 30th, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Corridor-wide: In-person drop-in event* at Union Station: March 17th, 12 -7 p.m. (NOTE: The in-person event may transition to virtual, in accordance with public health recommendations.)
Registration in advance is not required. Sound Transit will have live closed captioning at each meeting and simultaneous interpretation at the CID/SODO and West Seattle/Delridge meetings. You can also contact Sound Transit at wsblink@soundtransit.org or 206-903-7229 about your accessibility needs in advance.
For more details on the project and on participating in the draft EIS process see this page. We will also continue to update you here.
King County has made it easier to recycle mattresses, box springs and futons with expanded service at five transfer stations
As of January 1st, mattress recycling service expanded to five King County transfer stations, including Bow Lake, Enumclaw, Factoria, Shoreline, and Vashon. A $30 handling fee for recycling and disposal of mattresses, box springs, and futons also went into effect at all King County stations and the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill. See this article for more details.
Did you know?
... that, according to HistoryLink, on today’s date in 1867, the Washington Territorial Legislature approved King County's present-day boundaries?
Today’s moment of inspiration
 The center helps residents recycle waste in 45 categories, and features a boutique hotel for eco-tourists. Photo by Koji Fujii/CNN
“Planks of burgundy cedar wood frame 700 mismatched windows, forming a patchwork quilt of glass panes against a backdrop of mountain peaks and rolling groves of evergreens,” according to this story from CNN. The Kamikatsu Zero Waste Center in southern Japan is built entirely of trash, as part of the town of Kamikatsu’s goal to reach 100% zero waste.
Kamikatsu is a town of fewer than 1,500 residents and does not “export” any of its trash. The Center building itself is amazing, allowing residents to separate trash into 45 different categories, which helped the town reach a recycling rate of 80% in 2016. The building is shaped like a question mark, to encourage the residents to question their consumption habits. It also acts as a community hub.
The Center was designed by Hiroshi Nakamura of NAP Architectural Consulting, who told CNN, "My perception of, and way of thinking about garbage, has changed 180 degrees."
To view several photos of the building’s interior (amazing!), as well as a gallery of photos of zero-waste buildings from around the world, see the story here.
 From above, the building's question mark shape is clear. It asks people to question their consumer habits, and use less. Photo by Koji Fujii/CNN
Additional helpful and informative links
 California sea lions often travel the coast all the way to Alaska. Photo by @elaynecrain
- Live: Coronavirus daily news updates, January 31: What to know today about COVID-19 in the Seattle area, Washington state and the world – The Seattle Times
- AUDIO: The Omicron wave is receding. What happens now? – NPR
- All-out effort to keep Biden COVID-free; no ‘normal’ yet – AP News
- States were sharing COVID test kits. Then the omicron coronavirus variant hit. – Kaiser Health News/USA Today
- Study: ‘Mix-and-match’ booster strategy is safe, effective – UW News
- And then there were two: FDA gives full approval to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine – Stat News
- In ‘chemo brain,’ researchers see clues to unravel long COVID’s brain fog – Stat News
- Coronavirus FAQ: Are pets a threat? My immunocompromised pal had COVID. Can I visit? – NPR
- COVID testing company faked test results, lied to patients, WA AG lawsuit says – The Seattle Times
- [Washington State] Supreme Court Rules on WSAC, Snohomish County, Kittitas County, and Whitman County v. State of Washington – Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC). (The appeal to the state Supreme Court originated from King County Superior Court.)
- Climate-driven floods will disproportionately affect Black communities, study finds - NPR
- U.S. pushes for better tap water but must win over wary public – AP News
- Hey, boys, you’ve got to keep it down’: In Ballard, noisy sea lions are a real scene – The Seattle Times
- Home generator sales are booming with mass outages, climate change and COVID – NPR
- Ballard’s Tool Library to host its first tool sale after closing temporarily last fall – MyBallard
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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