Summary:
Public Health – Seattle & King County published today a new data dashboard that provides a snapshot of key indicators related to COVID-19 disease activity, testing capacity, and healthcare system status. These data will be useful to help guide decisions about whether restrictions and precautions are adequate, or whether they need to be strengthened or carefully relaxed.
Story:
Today, Public Health – Seattle & King County published a new data dashboard called “Key Indicators of COVID-19 Activity in King County, Washington.” The dashboard provides a snapshot of several useful indicators related to disease activity, testing capacity, and healthcare system status. The information from these key metrics, along with other data and recommendations, are provided by Public Health to policy makers when they make decisions about whether current restrictions and precautions to prevent COVID-19 are adequate, need to be strengthened or might be carefully relaxed.
Many of these important indicators reflect COVID-19 transmission from behaviors and activities that happened one to three weeks ago. This is because of the time it takes for someone to become ill after becoming infected, the time it takes for someone to seek health care and be tested after becoming ill, and the progression of the disease. Due to the time lag between infection and the outcomes, if we make changes in our activities and behaviors today that either increase or decrease COVID-19 transmission, we would see the results of those changes – or increasing or decreasing numbers of cases – about two to three weeks later.
Quotes:
King County Executive Dow Constantine
“I’m proud of King County residents for doing their part to limit the spread of this dangerous virus, but we are not out of the woods yet. As we look to the data to guide the steps to our recovery, I urge everyone to limit unnecessary interactions, and if you must go out, keep at least six feet away from others, wear a mask, and make contacts as brief as possible. The health of our whole community depends on what each of us do to protect ourselves and others.”
Mayor of Seattle Jenny A. Durkan
“The people of our region have made tremendous progress to decrease the virus in our community and save lives. Limiting gatherings, physical distancing, face coverings, good hygiene, and a new normal of operations at our businesses will be key to keeping the virus from exponentially hitting our region. In addition to monitoring the spread of the virus, public health and elected officials are examining the progress that we are making on the key metrics including testing and hospitalization, with other key targets on contact tracing and at-risk populations to be added to the dashboard soon. For the days and months to come, the public can follow the key targets that will be the basis of our scientific and data-driven decision making to keep our community healthy.”
Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County
“We track key indicators of COVID-19 activity to inform decisions about whether current strategies to limit COVID-19 spread are working, need to be strengthened, or can be gradually relaxed as we think about increasing our activities in the community. Because of the steps we’ve taken together, many indicators have moved in the right direction, although we clearly need to continue many of our efforts to limit the spread of this virus while enhancing others. To decrease personal and community risk, it’s important to continue to avoid close contact with others outside the home, use cloth face masks when in public, wash hands and disinfect surfaces frequently, and take steps to decrease the risk for COVID-19 at workplaces, businesses and other locations where people may gather. And, if you get sick symptoms associated with COVID-19 ask your health care provider right away for a test.”
Case updates
Daily totals for new COVID-19 cases and deaths are available on Public Health’s Data Dashboard webpage, which updates as soon as data are available, typically between 1-3 p.m.
Isolation and quarantine facilities update
Isolation and quarantine is a proven public health practice for reducing the spread of disease.
Thirty-three people are currently staying in King County isolation, quarantine and recovery facilities. The number of residents at King County’s isolation and quarantine sites is included in regular updates provided by Public Health. No other identifying or personal information will be provided.