Preliminary data from Public Health—Seattle & King County shows COVID-19 impacting all races and ethnicities, as 231 new cases and 19 deaths reported for April 10, 2020

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Summary

Preliminary data shows COVID-19 impacting all races and ethnicities. In addition, Public Health—Seattle & King County reported 231 new cases, bringing the official case count in King County to 4,117, and 19 new deaths, bringing the total of COVID-19 deaths in King County to 277.

Story

Preliminary data shows COVID-19 impacting all races and ethnicities

Public Health—Seattle & King County released preliminary data of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and confirmed deaths by race/ethnicity. This preliminary data shows COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalizations are impacting people of all races and ethnicities. However, additional data is needed to be able to draw conclusions about the impact COVID-19 is having across racial and ethnic groups in King County.

Many diseases, including COVID-19, have the potential to disproportionately impact people with serious underlying health conditions and those who are socially and economically disadvantaged,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health. “In addition to interviews with people who test positive, we’re looking at other data sources to get a better understanding of the potential disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 across our community. This can help us determine if additional actions are needed.”

The outbreak is still in a relatively early stage, and testing has not been widespread throughout the community. For these reasons, the available data likely does not provide the full picture of COVID-19 impacts across King County’s population.

For example, many cases have been identified through testing at long-term care facilities and among patients admitted to hospitals. Access to testing is greater for those with more access to healthcare. This is likely to skew the racial/ethnic data that we do have towards a higher-income and whiter population.

For further details, please see the related blog post on Public Health Insider.

The outbreak is still in a relatively early stage, and testing has not been widespread throughout the community. For these reasons, the available data likely does not provide the full picture of COVID-19 impacts across King County’s population.

For example, many cases have been identified through testing at long-term care facilities and among patients admitted to hospitals. Access to testing is greater for those with more access to healthcare. This is likely to skew the racial/ethnic data that we do have towards a higher-income and whiter population.

For further details, please see the related blog post on Public Health Insider.

NOTE: Public Health Media Release schedule is changing

Starting next week, Public Health will distribute updates through a Media Release on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

  • Exceptions will be made when important news must be distributed through a Media Release, on any day of the week.
  • Public Health publishes new information frequently through the Public Health Insider blog – please consider becoming a subscriber by choosing the option to “Follow Blog Via Email.”
  • Daily totals for new cases of COVID-19 and deaths are available on the Data Dashboard webpage, which updates as soon as data are available, typically between 1pm to 3pm.

For additional information about COVID-19 and the response in King County, be sure to check our webpage: www.kingcounty.gov/covid

Everyone, even people who are young and healthy, must stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19. Each individual’s actions affect the health of our entire community, and what we do as a community protects us all. Stand Together, Stay Apart.

Case updates

Public Health—Seattle & King County is reporting the following confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 through 11:59 p.m. on 4/9/20.

  • 4,117 confirmed positive cases (up 231* from yesterday)
  • 277 confirmed deaths (up 19 from yesterday)

* The “new confirmed positive cases” figure we publish each day represents all new confirmed cases reported to us through 11:59 the night prior. Some of these test results were processed on days prior but were delayed in being reported to us.

Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19 is available on the data dashboard.

Temporary changes in reporting of negative COVID-19 test results

King County’s COVID-19 data dashboard is based on data provided by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). As of April 4, 2020, DOH has temporarily stopped reporting data on negative test results. As a result, we are no longer displaying information on negative test results on our data dashboard.

Isolation and quarantine facilities update

Isolation and quarantine is a proven public health practice for reducing the spread of disease. Examples of people who may need this assistance include people who cannot safely isolate from a family member who is elderly or medically fragile, or people experiencing homelessness. Individuals can only be placed into the King County sites after a health professional with Public Health has determined that they need isolation or quarantine.

Sixty-seven people are currently staying in King County isolation and quarantine facilities.