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King County reported no Covid-19 deaths on Thursday, the first time since the pandemic started

caption: Dr. Jeff Duchin with Public Health Seattle-King County speaks at a media briefing on the region's COVID-19 outbreak, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
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Dr. Jeff Duchin with Public Health Seattle-King County speaks at a media briefing on the region's COVID-19 outbreak, Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Public Health Seattle-King County

King County had no confirmed Covid-19 related deaths on Thursday, May 14, public health officials said on Friday.

This was the first day with no reported deaths since the outbreak began in late February. The number of new infections has trended downward, too.

"The collective effort of our community in staying home and following physical distance guidelines" has brought transmission down from the county's April peak, said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer at Public Health – Seattle & King County.

There were 214 King County coronavirus cases reported on April 1, and 15 deaths reported on March 26, April 5, and April 7.

“Despite this good news, we cannot become complacent because death counts reflect infections and behaviors acquired in the community that occurred approximately three weeks ago," Duchin said.

He said recent increases in activity could reverse these trends, if people do not continue to practice social distancing and take other precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

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