King County COVID cases keep climbing as officials tell businesses to prepare for Phase 2

[SEATTLE] – (MTN) The latest numbers for COVID cases and hospitalizations show a worsening situation with new COVID cases now 236 per 100,000 residents and hospitalizations up to 5.7 per 100,000 residents. To remain in Phase 3, new cases must be below 200 per 100,000 and hospitalizations under 5.0.

King County Public Health Director Patty Hayes warned business owners to get prepared, “We should expect that the announcement next week will be that King County will move back to Phase two.”

According to the website COVID Act Now, Washington has a 6.2% positivity rate and 76% of available ICU beds are utilized statewide. A positivity rate over 5% indicates under testing and ICU utilization over 80% is considered high. The 7-day moving average for new cases is 1,424, almost doubling since March 22 when the county moved to Phase 3.

The biggest impact is a rollback to 25% occupancy for businesses such as restaurants, bars, gyms, and yoga studios.

King County is not alone in dealing with surging COVID cases with numbers worsening in Pierce and Snohomish County.

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