New report provides detailed breakdown of COVID-19 deaths in King County
Sep 4, 2020, 9:04 AM | Updated: 10:50 am
Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer, Public Health – Seattle & King County, addresses a news conference, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
A new report from Seattle-King County Public Health provides in-depth analysis on COVID-19 deaths in the region, finding that communities of color — particularly Hispanic/Latinx and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders — “continue to die at disproportionate rates compared to Whites.”
Washington DOH updates COVID-19 reporting to include death categories
That’s seen in the adjusted rate of death among demographics — that number sits at 84 deaths for every 100,000 people among Hispanic/Latinx residents, and 121 per 100,000 for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders. That’s three and four times higher respectively compared to the adjusted rate of death for white King County residents.
In order to mitigate this discrepancy, the county has deployed a team of “Community Navigators who serve as liaisons with particularly impacted communities.”
“Community leaders are appearing regularly on Spanish radio and TV, and in other ethnic media, to spread the word about how to protect yourself and your family from COVID-19,” Public Health said in a news release.
Access to testing has also been increased in South Seattle and South King County, “where rates of COVID-19 have been higher.”
Confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths across Washington
In terms of age brackets, the virus continues to prove fatal primarily for the elderly. As of Sept. 4, over 90% of COVID-19 deaths in King County have been in people over the age of 60, while the median age for deaths in the last six months has steadily remained around 81 years old. Additionally, over 80% of those who have died from COVID countywide have had an underlying medical condition.
That’s had Public Health devoting significant effort to those who are more susceptible by “working to improve infection control and COVID-19 response capacity at long-term care facilities.”
King County currently has the most COVID-19 deaths out of all Washington counties at 732. The next highest totals are in Yakima County (243), Snohomish County (207), and Pierce County (175).
