Washington state reporting 19,585 COVID-19 cases, 1,055 deaths
The Washington State Department of Health reported 320 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths late Saturday night.
Statewide totals have reached 19,585 cases and 1,055 deaths, up from 19,265 cases and 1,050 deaths Friday. The department’s COVID-19 data dashboard says total deaths are at 1,057, but two deaths “have data to still be completed.”
King County continues to be the hardest hit, with 7,741 total cases and 545 deaths, while Snohomish County has 2,889 cases and 135 deaths and Yakima County has 2,719 cases and 83 deaths.
Pierce County reported 14 new cases Saturday, bringing its totals to 1,851 cases and 73 deaths.
Garfield County remains the only county in the state without a confirmed case, while eight other counties are reporting 10 or fewer cases. There are 17 counties in the state that have confirmed more than 100 cases. There are 54 cases that have not been assigned to a county.
There have been 316,276 tests conducted in Washington, with positive results now at 6.2%.
Seven more counties in the state were given approval Saturday to move to the second phase of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan.
Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved variance applications for Cowlitz, Grant, Island, Jefferson, Mason, Pacific and San Juan counties to move forward, according to a release from the state Department of Health.
Of the state’s 39 counties, 21 — including the seven approved Saturday, and Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Lincoln, Pend Orielle, Skamania, Spokane, Stevens, Wahkiakum and Whitman — have been approved to move to Phase 2.
Clallam, Kitsap and Thurston counties are eligible to apply for a variance, while applications from Kittitas and Clark are on pause pending discussion about outbreak investigations.
Counties must “have an average of less than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period,” according to the state DOH.
Applications require support from the local health officer, local board of health, local hospitals and the county commission or council, and must include plans for testing, case investigations, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine procedures, and outbreak response procedures.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Washington state reporting 19,585 COVID-19 cases, 1,055 deaths."
