Data Snapshot
UW Medicine Hospitals:
King County: The county reported 126 new positive cases and 2 new deaths on Sept. 10.
Washington: The state reported 78,467 cases and 1,985 deaths as of Sept. 9.
United States: The CDC reports 6,343,562 cases and 190,262 deaths as of Sept. 10.
Global: WHO reports 27,973,127 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 905,426 deaths as of Sept. 11.
*Numbers update frequently, please follow links for most up-to-date numbers.
UW Medicine in the News
Featuring: Sachita Shah, Emergency Medicine
“On January 21, the US announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19—a man from Washington state in his 30s who had developed symptoms after returning from a trip to Wuhan, China. Just over one month later, on February 29, officials reported the first confirmed coronavirus death again in Washington, this time near Seattle. Soon, Seattle became known as one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, putting a strain on the hospital system there. ‘We were treating COVID patients before we even knew we were treating COVID patients,’ Sachita Shah, MD, an emergency physician Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Washington, tells Health. Dr. Shah began seeing patients come to the hospital with multifocal pneumonia—or pneumonia that affects multiple sections of the lung—in both lungs, but they didn’t fit the initial profile of coronavirus patients. ‘They didn’t really fit the criteria given to us of they haven’t traveled to Italy so they couldn’t have COVID,’ she says. ‘Very quickly we realized we were having local transmission just among people living in the community around Seattle.”’
AP: Return of football renews fears over more virus spread
Featuring: Ali Mokdad, IHME
“For football-obsessed fans, the start of the season is a relief after being cooped up for months — an opportunity to gather with friends at bars, go to games and tailgate parties or head to sportsbooks to place bets. Sportsbooks are expecting a record-breaking season in terms of the amount of money wagered, driven by a public that’s eager for action after months of lockdowns. And with each of these gatherings comes a greater health risk. For fans, watching football on TV can be done safely and is a welcome way ‘to go back to normal things in our lives that we love and enjoy,’ said Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. For players, coaches and fans who venture into stadiums, a safe season hinges on what else people are willing to give up to lower the case numbers and control the level of community spread that could breed problems. ‘If we want to enjoy our football, we have to sacrifice, or let go of certain things we used to do before — such as bars and crowded restaurants and places like this where we know infection is more likely to happen,’ Mokdad said.”
The News Tribune: Do neck gaiters provide adequate protection against COVID-19?
Video Featuring: Mark Harrast, Sports Medicine , UW Medicine Newsroom
“There has been controversy about whether neck gaiters provide sufficient coverage to prevent the spread of COVID-19. UW Medicine’s Dr. Mark Harrast, director of the Sports Medicine Center, and a runner, says any covering is better than none at all.”
Tweet of the Week
Congratulations to protein design pioneer David Baker @UWproteindesign @uwbiochemistry @UWMedicine for his Breakthrough Prize in the Life Sciences @brkthroughprize https://t.co/awPxFEkNga
— UW Medicine Newsroom (@uwmnewsroom) September 10, 2020
