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COVID – week 66 – June 14 – June 20

Weekend – Thinking about when to stop the daily notes in this blog. Obvious re-opening all across the area; outside of the US – there are still waves of covid and folk needing vaccines.

Weekly update from The Seattle Times. Cases for the entire state are trending downwards, slowly but surely.

Friday – Neighbours came round for a glass of wine; all vaccinated, no masks. With King County at >70% vaccinated, and Issaquah at >80% – the old routines are returning.

Thursday – Wales pauses re-opening. Those numbers in the UK look like another wave.

Wednesday – UK reporting the start of a Delta variant wave. Washington State concerns about the Gamma variant (previously known as Brazil variant).

Tuesday – UW reporting Delta variant present and “really concerning” in Washington State. King County in Washington State reaches 70% vaccination rate; mask requirements to be retired in two weeks.

Monday – UK grand reopening pushed back by four weeks.

This time last year – “a quarter of the year” working from home.. Lots of discussion about re-opening, and second waves.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
14 Jun here here
15 Jun here here
16 Jun here here
17 Jun here here
18 Jun here here
19 Jun here here
20 Jun here here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 65 – June 7 – June 13

Weekend – that UK case number is ticking up quickly. 7 Million in the UK are in higher risk, lower vaccinated areas. Graph from The Guardian.

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PHE report Delta Variant is 60% more transmissible and is the dominant variant. “Although there is some regional variation, PHE experts now believe that Delta (VOC-21APR-02) has overtaken Alpha (VOC-20DEC-01) as the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK.” and “The data indicates that over 90% of new COVID-19 cases in the UK are now the Delta variant, which continues to show a significantly higher rate of growth compared to the Alpha variant.” and “New research from PHE suggests that the Delta variant is associated with an approximately 60% increased risk of household transmission compared to the Alpha variant.”

Locally – vaccines administered still above 20k per day. Seattle, King County looking good for vaccination rate.

Friday – High School graduation for the eldest – and to an all-vaccinated section at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Vaccination records and negative tests being inspected. Another small step back to normalcy.

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Thursday – UK “grand reopening” on 21 June looks to be pushed out following increased numbers of positive cases.

Wednesday – WHO warns of Autumn resurgence of COVID. Two US cruise passengers test positive for COVID, on first trip out for a year.

Tuesday – Portugal and Greece opening up to vaccinated US tourists.

Monday – Issaquah and surrounding areas such as Bellevue, Mercer Island and Sammamish are showing >70% of the population are fully vaccinated. Data from Summary of COVID vaccination among King County residents – King County The more rural areas around us – less so. It’s starting to reach levels where normal activity is starting back up. Today pool swimming for the first time in over 15 months. Felt good. On the worrying side – Delta Variant is causing concern in England. If it takes hold in the US – that would be a massive step backwards.

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This time last year – day 100; re-opening; early signs of the end of the first wave and the start of a second.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
7 Jun here here
8 Jun here here
9 Jun here here
10 Jun here here
11 Jun here here
12 Jun here here
13 Jun here here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 64 – May 31 – June 6

Weekend – “97% of new COVID cases in King County are from unvaccinated” – the virus is now infecting a smaller and smaller pool. That pool is broadly consisting of black and latino populations who have been historically lacking access to good healthcare options. The second group is white, Republican voters. Different approaches to reach both groups – outreach, local vaccination teams, making it quick and easy for the first. Education for the second.

UK is seeing a real uptick in numbers from the Delta variant, reported to be 40% more transmissible.

Usual weekly snapshot from The Seattle Times. Vaccination rate sharply down.

Friday – our first sports event in over 450 days. Masked; wristbands for vaccinated; vaccinated only areas. The Seattle Storm did this well, it felt safe. Still tiny number of people present. As for the game – Storm won in the last second of overtime.

PXL_20210605_011036168PXL_20210605_011637140

Thursday – UK is in the uptick of a third wave. Hammer and Dance time again. Will the politicians go with data or popularity of reopening instead?

Wednesday – good read from The Guardian on rural, red, America – and vaccine reluctance, mask avoidance – and exploding COVID cases.

Tuesday – India seems to have peaked in new cases; looking at >10M vaccinations per day by July. That’s still three months to vaccinate enough to break the cycle.

Monday – “speed up second jabs” in the UK, UK in early stages of third wave. Bank Holiday weekend in the UK – and plenty of folk out, about, unmasked. Same here in the US with Memorial Day. WHO names variants – UK/Kent “Alpha”, South Africa “Beta”, Brazil “Gamma”, India “Delta” – to avoid regional stigma. Washington State still has patchy vaccination rates; closely correlated to voting intent.

COVID-19 Data Dashboard :: Washington State Department of Health

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This time last year – Curfew in Issaquah, Seattle. BLM protests, parallel violence and police response.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
31 May here here
1 Jun here here
2 Jun here here
3 Jun here here
4 Jun here here
5 Jun here here
6 Jun here here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 63 – May 18 – May 30

Weekend – Protests in London around ending lockdown. UK at >74% adults with first vaccine; 47% with two.

From The Seattle Times – positive cases are still bumping along at >1000 per day; and slightly increasing. Huge disparities in vaccine take-up.

Friday – EU “vaccine passports” starting to be unrolled. UK in the midst of more variant outbreaks.

Thursday – The Seattle Times url structure has rotated around after a year. Now ending with -2.

Wednesday – Covid infections “at lowest levels for months” in Germany, UK, France. India still ramping new cases.

Tuesday – Into the office for the first time in 434 days. A ghost town. Pripyat-esque. Masks and protocol.

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Monday – 18 months on – the news cycle rotates back to Wuhan and the earliest days of the pandemic. Japan rushes to vaccinate ahead of the Olympics.

This time last year – protests and riots, Seattle curfew. “250 cases per day” in Washington State; we are currently at >1600 and “emerging from the pandemic”. I think the first mention of variants and mutation.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
24 May here here
25 May here here
26 May here here
27 May here here
28 May here here
29 May here here
30 May here here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/

COVID – week 62 – May 17 – May 23

Weekend – Washington State positive case rates are down. Vaccination is continuing at around 50k per day.

Weekend stats from The Seattle Times.

Note: DOH will not have updated data online through the weekend (May 22-23) due to scheduled maintenance.

Friday – Mask use in stores is really inconsistent. REI – masks required, PCC – masks optional.

King County rates are really clearly below the Phase 2/Phase 3 boundary. Ballsy call by Gov Inslee – but proved correct.

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Thursday – Potentially a half day “in the office” next week, with a vaccinated coworker, for planning and whiteboard. Exciting times! New York State offering lottery tickets to encourage vaccination.

Wednesday – Discussions on vaccine passports; mobility and opening up. India, Brazil, Mexico still showing huge numbers of cases and deaths.

Tuesday – In Europe – the conversation is about vaccination and returning to normal. UK Border Patrol predict “4-6 hour waits for immigration” because of the vaccine passport checking.

Monday – India variant – and the UK is looking closely at moving back to partial, regional lockdowns.

This time last year – US entering the second wave. Exams, work, politics.

The Guardian The Seattle Times
17 May here here
18 May here here
19 May here here
20 May here here
21 May here here
22 May here here
23 May here here

https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/coronavirus-live

https://www.seattletimes.com/tag/coronavirus/