SEATTLE (December 4) – Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan issued the following statement after the Department of Health and Public Health – Seattle and King County confirmation of the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 in King County:
“While Omicron is the latest chapter of our battle with COVID-19, our residents and businesses know the steps we all can take to keep our community safe and healthy together. This pandemic has been so hard, but during every wave Seattle has done what it needed and emerged with the lowest cases, hospitalizations, and mortality rates of every major city in America. We have listened to public health and followed the science. It’s why Seattle has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, widespread testing, masking requirements, and vaccine verification.
“In the coming days and weeks, we will learn more about the transmission and severity of Omicron from the scientists and researchers, but here’s what we know: vaccines work, boosters are key, and testing remains critical. We should continue to wear masks at indoor gatherings, remember to wash our hands frequently, understand the risks of crowded indoor spaces and stay home and away from others if you have symptoms.
“In Seattle, we’ve launched efforts to deliver tens of thousands of booster shots and pediatric shots before the holidays and are working with our partners to make more appointments available. We continue to have easy, fast, and accessible testing through our partnerships with UW Medicine and Curative. While all of us want the pandemic to be over, we need to all do our part to keep one another and our community safe.”