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Record number of COVID-19 infections reported in King County

Published 6:28 am Tuesday, December 28, 2021

FILE - Travelers wear masks as they wait in a line for a TSA security check, Dec. 10, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. President Joe Biden on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, will sign an executive order aimed at saving Americans time and frustration when seeking a broad array of federal services, like renewing passports, applying for Social Security benefits and getting aid after natural disasters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
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FILE - Travelers wear masks as they wait in a line for a TSA security check, Dec. 10, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. President Joe Biden on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, will sign an executive order aimed at saving Americans time and frustration when seeking a broad array of federal services, like renewing passports, applying for Social Security benefits and getting aid after natural disasters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Travelers wear masks as they wait in a line for a TSA security check Dec. 10 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. Coronavirus cases in King County are averaging 1,586 infections per day. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Data updated Monday shows coronavirus infections in Washington’s most populated county have jumped in the past week as the omicron variant surges.

According to King County’s COVID-19 data dashboard, the county has seen a 195% increase in cases in the past seven days, averaging 1,586 infections per day, The Seattle Times reported.

The recent spike marks the highest number of daily cases in King County, which is home to Seattle, since the beginning of the pandemic. The county recorded 2,249 confirmed COVID-19 cases last Thursday, about three and a half times the peak of its delta wave, which had a seven-day average of about 630 cases in late August.

It’s unclear how many of the cases are attributed to omicron, but local health experts have been predicting a “rapid surge” from the variant that could overwhelm health care systems and disrupt businesses and schools as employees get sick.

Partly because of the omicron surge, U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days.

On Friday, 13% of University of Washington Medicine’s collected samples in Seattle returned positive for the coronavirus, the highest positivity rate the sites have ever seen, Dr. Patrick Mathias, vice chair of clinical operations for the UW’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, said on Monday.

In addition, while more and more fully vaccinated people are testing positive for the virus, county data shows being unvaccinated still poses a higher risk of transmission.

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