COVID-19 in King county

By Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health — Seattle and King County

We face a long-term challenge from COVID-19 that requires us to fundamentally change the way we interact with one another for the foreseeable future if we are to move forward safely.

Increasing cases over the past two weeks means we are having more contact with one another but not taking more precautions, giving COVID-19 too many opportunities to jump from person to person.

There seems to be a misconception that because we are reopening, the risk of COVID-19 has receded. But the truth is that the virus is still widespread in the community and the risk for infection remains serious.

COVID-19 connects us all through the air we breathe, and we must depend on one-another to prevent infections and stay safe. We are a highly interconnected community, and the impact of transmission in one setting, such as coffee shops, construction sites and businesses, is felt across other sectors, like restaurants, manufacturing and recreation, and vice versa.

While we can’t eliminate the risk of COVID-19, we can and must understand the risk and take steps to decrease it. Close contact with others, longer duration of contact, and poorly ventilated spaces all increase risk.

That’s why it is so important for all worksites, businesses, restaurants and other community spaces to do whatever they can to reduce opportunities for the virus to spread as we reopen. Physical distance and staying home remain the most powerful prevention measures, along with use of face masks in public and good hand washing.