Coronavirus In Sammamish-Issaquah: The Week In Review

SAMMAMISH, WA — The COVID-19 transmission rate is shrinking, case counts and hospitalizations are on the decline and Washington state's top health leaders are expressing cautious optimism for nearly the first time this year. However, the arrival of a more transmissible coronavirus mutation in Washington's three largest counties may soon spell new trouble.

Per the latest situation report from the Washington State Department of Health, the transmission rate is down to about 0.73 in Western Washington — meaning that for every four patients who catch the coronavirus, only three will pass it along. That's good news, though the state says now it means residents have to keep up their good behavior so that case counts will continue their decline.

That's because, while case counts are shrinking alongside the transmission rate, they remain extremely high across the state. Out of Washington's 39 counties, 22 had more than 200 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the two-week period ending Jan. 5. Of those, five had rates above 500. To put that in perspective, the DOH says case counts in many counties are closer to what we saw in mid-November. That's less daily cases than say, December or early this month, but its also more daily coronavirus cases than the state had ever seen before the holiday surge.

Hospitalization rates, which typically lag behind transmission rates and case counts, have also begun a decline, according to the DOH. Their data shows hospital bed occupancy actually plateaued in late December and early January, and has since shown early signs of improvement.

Another issue to keep an eye on is the appearance of a COVID-19 variant that spreads faster and more easily than earlier strains. The so-called U.K. variant has been confirmed in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, and will likely continue to spread. The CDC has predicted it will become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in America in a matter of months — and its foothold in Washington is another reason health officials say that right now, it remains critical to exercise caution and follow coronavirus safety guidelines like wearing masks and avoiding social gatherings.

King County's health officer warned against complacency on Friday, just hours before the B117 strain was confirmed in the state's most populous county, especially as the region restores more indoor activities, where all variants of the virus spread readily.

"To stop the spread, we need to take a fresh look at how we can be better at taking all possible precautions in our personal and social lives, workplaces and wherever people gather," Dr. Jeff Duchin said. "This means decreasing nonessential activities outside the home. Remember, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should."

Related: Health Officer Pleads For Caution As King County Begins Reopening

In Sammamish, Public Health - Seattle & King County recorded a dozen cases Friday, with 46 positive tests, one hospitalization and no deaths resulting from the coronavirus over the past two weeks. The city's 14-day positivity rate dropped to 8.2 percent. In Issaquah, just seven cases were added Friday, with 39 positive tests, no hospitalizations and one death recorded over 14 days. The city's testing positivity rate dropped to 10.6 percent.

The rate of cases across King County has dropped to 232 per 100,000 residents over two weeks but remains more than 9 times higher than the goal range.

Catch up on this week's coronavirus headlines:

Seven counties will enter Phase 2 Monday

Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that Washington would be loosening the requirements to lift pandemic safety regulations, and allowing seven counties to move ahead to Phase 2 of the Healthy Washington Plan.

Those counties are: King, Pierce, Snohomish, Lewis, Thurston, Pacific and Grays Harbor counties.

Before the governor's announcement, the state required a region to meet four guidelines before moving ahead to the next phase:

• A 10 percent decline in COVID-19 case rates over the past two weeks
• A 10 percent decrease in COVID-19 hospital admission over the past two weeks
• An ICU occupancy under 90 percent
• Test positivity of less than 10 percent

Under the changes announced Thursday, however, a region only needs to meet three out of the four guidelines to move ahead.

After the counties move ahead, they will be evaluated by the state every two weeks. Unlike the previous Safe Start phases, if a region begins to fail those metrics or sees a significant uptick in cases, it can be downgraded back into Phase 1.

Phase 2 provides a number of benefits, including the return of indoor dining, movie theaters, and gyms, albeit at a reduced capacity.

Read more: 7 Washington Counties Begin Phase 2 Reopening Monday, Inslee Says

Washington opens mass vaccination sites

Last week, state leaders announced plans to triple the number of COVID-19 vaccines administered daily to 45,000. While the state still has quite a ways to go to meet that goal, it's one step closer thanks to the opening of four mass vaccination sites this week.

Now that they're up and running, residents can make an appointment to get a shot at any of the four sites at:

• Spokane Arena, Spokane
• Clark County Fairgrounds, Ridgefield
• Town Toyota Center, Wenatchee
• Tri-Cities Fairgrounds, Kennewick

To start, each of the sites will be providing about 500 vaccinations each day, though health officials say they hope to increase that number as the state receives larger, more regular vaccine shipments.

Related: Washington's First Mass Vaccination Sites To Open This Week

When freezer fails, hundreds get the vaccine early

A malfunctioning freezer pushed Seattle-area clinics to perform hundreds of emergency vaccinations before the doses contained within spoiled Thursday night.

The Seattle Times reports a freezer at Kaiser Permanente holding hundreds of doses of the Moderna vaccine failed around 9 p.m. Thursday. Not wanting the doses to spoil and go to waste, the hospital called on its neighbors to begin an emergency mass vaccination event. Thanks to a successful campaign to get the word out over social media, they managed to distribute the roughly 1,600 doses of the vaccine by 3:30 a.m. Friday.

"Last night was unusual, just by virtue of the large number of doses," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, King County's top health official. "We would never have expected to have over 1,000 doses all of a sudden that needed to be used quickly, for which there were no appointments."

Read more: Hundreds Vaccinated In Seattle After Late Night Freezer Failure

OSPI releases plans to quickly vaccinate teachers

Washington's teachers and school staff aren't yet eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but school leaders want to be ready to get them vaccinated quickly when they are.

Chris Reykdal, Washington's superintendent of public instruction, announced Friday the new "Get Ready" program, which he said will help vaccinate as many school staff as possible the second they qualify for the vaccine.

The program, created through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, will establish between 14 and 20 vaccination sites that exclusively serve school employees. Currently, sites are planned along the Interstate 5 corridor in Western Washington and around Spokane in the east. Together, those locations should be able to offer vaccines to 80 percent of Washington's public school employees.

However, the plan is notable for one thing it will not do: help teachers jump up the queue to get the vaccine earlier. Despite concerns from educators and some lawmakers, teachers are still largely ineligible to receive the vaccine under the current distribution phase.

Read more: How Will WA Vaccinate Teachers? Superintendent Gets Ready

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

Editors note: Patch is now updating these totals on a weekly, rather than daily, basis. Readers should keep in mind that the increases below represent infections, hospitalizations and deaths over a seven-day period.

Also, note that the totals below include 13,940 probable cases.

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.