On June 28th we published an article showing very little spread of COVID-19 in the Snoqualmie Valley throughout May and June. In fact, from May 30th to June 28th, the Snoqualmie Valley – from Duvall to North Bend, with nearly 60,000 residents – only reported 6 new COVID-19 cases.
But over the last month, the Snoqualmie Valley began seeing an uptick in cases again – going from 88 cases at the end of June to 133 cases to date.
Of the Snoqualmie Valley’s now 133 total COVID-19 cases (since outbreak began), about 33% were reported over the past month, coinciding with businesses reopening, a rise in cases countywide, across the state and country, along with expanded testing.
Within the city limits of North Bend, testing increased 55% during the second half of June (compared to the first half). Within the city limits of Snoqualmie, testing jumped 90% during the same time period. King County now urges anyone with symptoms to get tested immediately.
According to the Washington State DOH, “The latest statewide modeling report shows the spread of COVID-19 was continuing to increase as of the end of June. In addition to the hot spots where we’ve recently seen high case counts, the virus appears to be spreading more broadly throughout the state.”
DOH also said cases have shifted to younger age groups. People under age 35 represented 22% of cases from January to March, and by May/June represented 46% of cases.
The good news is so far is hospitalizations and deaths trends have remained dramatically lower than during the outbreak peak in early spring.
In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, an increasing positive test rate and increasing virus reproductive number, state officials recently issued an emergency ‘no mask, no service’ mandate, requiring businesses to refuse service to those not following the statewide face covering order which went into effect on June 26th. The No Mask, No Service order started July 7th.
On Tuesday, July 14th the state extended the pause of the ability for counties to progress through phases of the SafeStart reopening plan until July 28th. Governor Inslee also reduced phase 3 gathering sizes from 50 to 10. Contract tracers attribute increasing cases to gatherings like barbecues, birthday parties and other social get-togethers. And on July 23rd, Governor Inslee also added new restaurant restrictions
In early July State Health Secretary John Wiesman commented, “The trends we are seeing in our communities and across the country are concerning and should make all of us stand to attention. We must redouble our efforts to keep our physical distance, wear our face coverings and limit the number of people we see each week.”
Since the outbreak began, King County has reported 14,729 COVID-19 cases, with 2809,150 people tested. There have been 1,900 hospitalizations and 644 deaths.
We’ll update this article daily in July to track current Snoqualmie Valley cases. You may notice larger jumps at the beginning of each week. That is because King County Health only reports case data for unincorporated county areas weekly, but tracks city data daily on its Outbreak Summary Dashboard.
Total COVID-19 Cases in Snoqualmie Valley as of July 27th
- Carnation, 98014 zip code (pop. 8,000): 10 positives; 3 hospitalizations; no deaths
- Duvall, 98019 zip code (pop. 12,000): 28 positives; 0 hospitalizations; no deaths
- Fall City, 98024 zip code (pop. 6,000): 11 positives; 1 hospitalization; no deaths
- North Bend, zip code 98045 (pop. 16,000): 34 positives, 1 hospitalization; 1 death
- Snoqualmie, zip code 98065 (pop. 16,500): 50 positives; 2 hospitalizations; 0 death
Comments
I am not surprised at Snoqualmie’s count rising as just two weeks ago, hundreds lined the Parkway for the Senior Parade, most without wearing masks or much social distancing.
“Within the city limits of North Bend, testing increased 55% during the second half of June (compared to the first half). Within the city limits of Snoqualmie, testing jumped 90% during the same time period. King County now urges anyone with symptoms to get tested immediately.”
With more testing, there will be more reported cases. It’s basic math. What is not answered is whether there are more actual cases. What we know is that with more testing we are finding more cases. That’s all, and it’s unfortunate. We are all making decisions with only part of the facts and data needed.
Using the numbers from the article we see the relation of positive tests to the valley population.
107/58,500*100= 0.182905982905983, or less than 2/10 of 1% of the valley population.
Couldn’t agree more Tom. Another sign that overall transmission is on the rise is the recent acceleration of cases around the US in young adults. They are at lower risk for severe Covid illness, so as distancing guidelines have eased, they’ve been on the front lines of ramping up social gatherings, going to Bars etc. Of course that ultimately puts more vulnerable individuals they come into contact with at greater risk.
Benjamin Franklin said it best- ”An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Wearing a mask in Public is a considerate and intelligent minor inconvenience.
If that’s too big an an infringement on someones freedom and liberty then they FAIL a decent human being and intelligence test.
How come it is 37 here and doh dash board shows 28 cases in snoqualmie?
Because the DOH number is only for the city limits of Snoqualmie. Our number includes all of zip code 98065, some of which is unincorporated King County. As stated in the article, King County DOH only reports unincorporated King County data once per week and its website is only tracking cases within the city limits.