Case updates August 6, 2021 - the Delta variant explained

Delta variant graphic from WebMD

The Delta variant is the latest example of how adaptable viruses can be. It’s a faster, more efficient version of the original virus that causes COVID-19. It’s the same virus, only better at infecting people.

Delta is far more contagious than its predecessors. It is spreading twice as quickly as the original strain, and people who are infected with it carry around much more virus in their nose and throat.

Now it is the most common COVID-19 strain spreading in King County and most of the US. As it spreads, the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations have been rising in the county, the state, and the nation.

Getting vaccinated is the best defense we have against COVID-19, including against the Delta variant strain. Vaccination makes it far less likely for someone to catch or spread the virus.

No vaccine is 100 percent effective, however, so the Delta variant can infect vaccinated people. But they are far less likely to have severe symptoms. Many have no symptoms at all.

These “breakthrough cases” are relatively rare. When vaccinated people do get infected with the Delta variant, they can be contagious and spread the virus to others, including to unvaccinated people who are at higher risk of getting seriously ill.

--Ben Stocking in Public Health Insider

Case updates August 6, 2021 - no updates on weekends; otherwise "new" numbers represent one day's results

 

United States 

• Total cases  35,665,877 - 124,928 new
• Total deaths 614,291 - 630 new

Washington state - not updated

• Total confirmed cases 445,081 -  new  
• Probable (additional) cases 43,559 -  new  
• Total hospitalizations 27,461 -  new 
• Total deaths 6,168 -  new 

King county - not updated

• Total confirmed cases 114,925 -  new 
• Total hospitalizations 6,774 - new 
• Total deaths 1,688 -    new

Seattle - not updated

• Total confirmed cases 27,723 - new 
• Total hospitalizations 1,489 -  new 
• Total deaths 425 -   new

Shoreline  - not updated

• Total confirmed cases 2,616 -  new
• Total hospitalizations 212 -  new
• Total deaths 102 -  new

Lake Forest Park - not updated

• Total confirmed cases 353 -   0 new 
• Total hospitalizations 19 - 0 new
• Total deaths 4  - 0 new