Coronavirus updates: Washington passes 53k cases; latest statewide situation report released
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, July 29.
Updated at 2:15 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday released the latest statewide situation report, which outlines concerning trends in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, as well as mixed trends in case counts in different parts of the state.
Report findings include:
▪ COVID-19 transmission continued to grow across the state as of early July. Best estimates place the reproductive number (the estimated number of new people each COVID-19 patient will infect) above one in eastern and western Washington.
▪ Case numbers continue to trend upward in many counties, with possible decreases or plateaus in Clark, Franklin, King, Spokane and Yakima counties.
▪ The proportion of tests that come back positive is still high in eastern Washington and is rising in western Washington. This likely means high or increasing case counts reflect greater spread of the virus, not just increases in testing.
▪ The recent concentration of new cases in young adults has continued to spread into younger and older age groups.
▪ Deaths continue to rise in eastern Washington, and appear to be increasing in western Washington for the first time since March.
“While I’m encouraged by continued progress in Yakima County, the data require that we must do more across the state,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman.
“We are still at great risk for significant growth as the virus continues to spread in Washington state. And, as it moves into more vulnerable age groups, I am very concerned that hospitalizations and deaths will continue to increase. Our actions matter: stay home, keep distance and wear a face covering. We all need to take this responsibility seriously and limit our activity to protect the health and safety of our communities.”
DOH launches CORONA survey
Updated at 2:15 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health launched the Community Recovery-Oriented Needs Assessment, or the CORONA survey. The survey is an effort to assess the behavioral, economic, social and emotional impacts and the needs of communities across the state as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The CORONA survey results will inform immediate, long-term, and ongoing actions that DOH and local health jurisdictions can take to address the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on Washingtonians.
In order to appropriately and equitably inform recovery plans at the state and local levels, DOH is requesting residents from across Washington to go to www.wacoronasurvey.com to take part in the survey. (To take the survey by phone, call 855-530-5787 — interpreters are available to assist.)
The survey is voluntary and confidential. At the end of the survey, participants will be given the option to provide their name, phone number and/or email address.
Each week of the survey, three participants will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift code as a thank you for their time and participation. If you have additional questions about the CORONA Survey, you can call the Washington State Department of Health at 1-800-525-0127.
Washington state reports 686 new cases Monday
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Monday reported 686 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths.
Pierce County reported 105 new cases Monday and no new deaths. Pierce County had a total of 106 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 53,321 cases and 1,518 deaths, up from 52,635 cases and 1,501 deaths on Sunday.
Forty-two people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Sunday, July 19, the most recent date with complete data. March 23 saw 89 people admitted, the highest number to date during the pandemic.
Washington state has conducted 933,304 coronavirus tests. On July 19, the most recent date for which data is complete, 5,033 specimens were collected statewide, with 5.6% testing positive. The average test rate for the seven days prior was 5.1%.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 14,579 cases and 645 deaths. Yakima County has the second-highest numbers, with 9,700 cases and 197 deaths.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield, Lincoln and Wahkiakum have case counts of less than 10.
On Friday, Washington had a 698 per 100,000 people case rate, up from 663 on Friday. The national rate is 1,289, up from 1,227 on Friday.
There had been more than 4.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 147,791 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 650,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Clover Park joins Pierce County school districts in fall full-time remote learning plan
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Clover Park is the latest Pierce County school district to turn to full-time remote learning this fall in light of new guidance from the health department last week.
The district will start the 2020-21 school year on Sept. 2 in a virtual learning model with students participating in “robust” online learning at home, Clover Park superintendent Ron Banner said in a message to families on Monday.
“Together, we have made a decision that is in the best interest of the safety and well-being of staff and students,” Banner said in the letter.
The announcement comes after Dr. Anthony Chen, Pierce County’s director of health, said in a statement to superintendents on Thursday that he felt it was unsafe to reopen schools for in-person learning as COVID-19 cases increase across the state.
That same evening, school districts across the county, including the three largest — Tacoma, Puyallup and Bethel — announced their intent to transition to remote learning at the start of the school year, reversing previous hybrid plans involving part remote, part face-to-face learning.
Officials from Clover Park, the fourth-largest district in Pierce County with more than 13,000 students enrolled from the Lakewood area, took extra time to make its decision.
‘I have not been misleading the American public.’ Fauci responds to viral Trump tweet
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said that he hasn’t misled the American public “under any circumstance” after President Trump retweeted a claim saying that he had.
“I’m just going to certainly continue doing my job. I don’t tweet. I don’t even read them so I don’t really want to go there,” Fauci told ABC’s ”Good Morning America” on Tuesday. “I just will continue to do my job no matter what comes out because I think it’s very important.”
“We’re in the middle of a crisis with regard to an epidemic, a pandemic, this is what I do, this is what I’ve been trained for my entire professional life, and I’ll continue to do it,” he said.
When asked about what Trump retweeted, Fauci responded: “I have not been misleading the American public under any circumstances.”
Trump retweeted a podcast on Monday featuring former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who said that Fauci “misled the American public on many issues,” The Guardian reported.
Trump has also called Fauci “a little bit of an alarmist,” during an interview with Fox News on July 19.
“Well, I mean people have their opinion about my reaction to things. I consider myself more a realist than an alarmist,” Fauci told CNN.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 8:45 AM.
