WHITE CENTER, Wash. — As King County breaks down the number of positive coronavirus tests per 100,000 residents, some communities stand out.
Data from the county shows that more than 191,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 county-wide. As of Tuesday afternoon, 11,206 tests came back positive, which is 5.8% of all tested in King County.
When the county broke out the numbers for White Center, 14.3% of all tests came back positive. Out of 1,281 tests, White Center had 183 positive results.
In SeaTac, 13.7% of all tests came back positive, and in Tukwila those positive tests made up 11.2%
King County's data dashboard is not a final report, but it is a snapshot of a moment in time, showing what is happening in each city. The data is updated daily.
Public Health - Seattle and King County reported that rates of coronavirus have been higher for communities of color. That is having an impact in White Center where census numbers show that 23.1% of residents are Hispanic and 12.5% are Black.
"It is a major concern for me," said Rob Lane, who owns InURLane Fitness in White Center. "If we can do something as simple as wearing a mask to keep droplets at bay, then why not take that step?"
David Goldenkranz, who lives in White Center, said, "there are certain things this country has done by design to ensure that minorities have had less access, less opportunities. So low and behold, a pandemic comes up and people are surprised. That honestly surprises me that people weren't expecting this."
About the racial inequities, Lane said, "I think on a superficial level people are trying to address that because they are talking about it more, but I don't really see that they are taking any focused approach at actually treating that."
One promising sign Lane does see is that a free coronavirus testing site is available by appointment in the neighborhood.