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(OLYMPIA, Wash.) Even as COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out throughout the U.S., Washington state is reeling from a fourth wave of infections, with hospitalizations surging for people age 40 to 59 and among many much younger.
Virus cases and hospitalizations have steadily risen since March, and Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week the state had entered its fourth wave. Earlier in April, he’d rolled back three counties to Phase 2 of reopening restrictions.
Currently, 40-to-59-year-olds account for the highest number of patients in hospitals, followed by 20-to-39-year-olds, according to state data showing COVID-like-illness hospitalizations, which don’t rely on a diagnosis but monitor overall trends.
Should rollback decisions be made at the state or local level? May 5, 2021 at 10:21 am
Restaurants continue to require patrons to wear masks, and likely will for the foreseeable future. (Seattle-King County Public Health, Facebook)
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee made the announcement that he was going to put a pause on the reopening plans and not move any counties in Washington back a phase. But would it be better for these decisions to be made at the local level?
When Inslee was asked about whether or not he would be willing to relinquish some of the decision-making power to local leaders, he indicated that they’ve expressed they would prefer he have the power to shut things down.
1,527 people have died, 1 more than yesterday’s total 5,897 people have been hospitalized, 17 more than yesterday’s total 1,047,286 people have been tested, 2,401 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 96,744/1,505/5,742/1,032,976.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 154.3 million cases worldwide, 32.5 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
HEALTH OFFICIALS’ BRIEFING: At 8:15 am tomorrow online, state health officials will present their weekly briefing and media Q&A. Watch the livestream here.
GETTING VACCINATED: The city’s still operating its sites, including the West Seattle hub (2801 SW Thistle), on a “no appointment needed” status (you can make one, though), and starting tomorrow, it’s supposed to have all three authorized vaccines on hand. Tomorrow is also the trial run for evening hours – the WS site will be open until 7:30 pm. … Next new idea from the city: Neig
For the first time in two months, the
Community Advisory Committee for West Seattle’s only city-sanctioned tiny-house encampment got an update on its operations.
Last month’s meeting had no one in attendance from camp operator
LIHI or the city
Human Services Department. This time, both were in attendance as the CAC met online on Sunday afternoon. The camp has been on the city-owned
Myers Way Parcels on the southeast edge of West Seattle for almost five years.
CAMP OPERATOR REPORT: At March’s meeting (WSB coverage here), the need for a new site coordinator and case manager (both of whom work for LIHI in positions funded by the city contract) was discussed. Sunday,
1,526 people have died, unchanged since Saturday 5,880 people have been hospitalized, 14 more than yesterday’s total 1,044,885 people have been tested, 2,337 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 96,597/1,503/5,713/1,028,782.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 153.1 million cases, 3,209,000 deaths – 577,000 in the U.S. See the other stats – nation by nation – here.
VACCINATION SITUATION: The city officially announced today what we reported on Friday – no appointments needed any more at city hubs. The announcement also included hours/days of operation – including a trial run for evening hours – plus details on which vaccines are available on which dates. Meantime, the