Younger Adults May Be To Blame For King County's Spike In Cases

SEATTLE, WA — In the 11 days since King County has left Phase 1 of the state's Safe Start plan, the average number of new coronavirus cases has more than doubled.

In mid-June, King County had an average of 40 daily cases. The week of June 21, it had 87. Now, Public Health - Seattle & King County say the problem may rest with younger adults: more than half of all new cases are now in patients between 20 and 39 years old. Of those new cases, 40 percent were Seattle residents. The news comes as health officials battle a cluster of COVID-19 illnesses at 10 fraternity houses near the University of Washington's Seattle campus.

While the coronavirus is generally much less deadly in younger patients, health officials say this is still a serious concern. As a whole, younger adults are more mobile and thus more likely to contract the virus and more likely to spread it to older patients who are at much higher risk.

"The recent increase in COVID-19 cases is very concerning," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for King County. "Increasing cases and risk for acquiring COVID-19 in our community threatens the hard-earned progress we made during the stay-at-home order."

Health officials say the recent spike in cases has not led to an overall increase in hospitalizations, but they are closely monitoring the county's hospitals for any possible upticks that may arise over the coming weeks.

As for the cause, public health says there's no single issue driving the growth in new cases, but that it's likely due to a combination of the following:

• Household infections. Most coronavirus patients are still infected by a member of their home.
• Infections in community settings. As King County lifted restrictions on businesses and nonessential travel in Phase 2, it created new opportunities for the virus to spread in public spaces.
• Increases in testing. As the state pushed more residents to get tested, it follows that more cases are also being found. Testing capacity in King County has nearly doubled since early June, and patients are now advised to get tested as soon as they have coronavirus symptoms. When testing supplies were low in the pandemic's early stages, only high-risk patients were encouraged to get tested.

Whatever the reason is, the solution remains the same. Public health officials say that everyone needs to be as vigilant as they were at the height of the outbreak to continue to slow the virus' spread: that means wearing face masks in public, keeping a six-foot space between yourself and others, and avoiding crowds and large gatherings. Phase 2 of the Safe Start plan allows for groups of up to five non-household members, but health officials warn that residents should still physically distance themselves from non-household members when possible, and meet outdoors to decrease the chances of spreading the infection.

Finally, anyone who does have COVID-19 symptoms should get tested as quickly as possible.

If the county can't get case counts down to early June numbers, there could be repercussions, including the possibility that the state will kick King County back down into Phase 1, closing many of the businesses that reopened just over a week ago. No county in Washington has ever moved backwards a phase in the Safe Start plan, though Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties remain stuck in Phase 1, and Pierce County health officials have issued similar reprimands warning that they could slide backwards if case counts continue to rise.

To avoid forcing King County back into Phase 1, health officials have a simple message.

“Everyone, especially young adults, needs to double down on COVID-19 prevention in all aspects of our lives immediately, including in social, recreational, workplace and business settings to avoid a rebound in serious illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths,” said Duchin.

Read more from Public Health - Seattle & King County at Public Health Insider.

Related:

Department Of Health: Limit Holiday Travel And Slow Coronavirus

As Coronavirus Cases Rise In King County, Experts Urge Caution

Coronavirus Cluster At University Of Washington's Greek Row