Coronavirus updates: State nears 83k cases; US death toll hits 200,000
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health on Monday reported 300 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 18 deaths from Monday and over the weekend. The state no longer reports deaths on weekends.
Pierce County reported 51 cases Monday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 164 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 82,848 cases and 2,055 deaths, up from 82,548 cases Sunday and 2,037 deaths Friday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Thirty-one people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Sep. 2, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.
On Sept. 10, the most recent date with complete data, 13,820 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.1% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.2%. More than 1.72 million tests have been conducted in Washington.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 21,516 cases and 757 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,292 cases and 257 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,614.
All counties in Washington have cases. Eleven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
On Monday, Washington had a 1,095-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 2,051, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,482. Vermont is lowest at 275.
There had been more than 6.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 199,766 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation. More than 962,000 people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 31 million.
‘Unfathomable’: US death toll from coronavirus hits 200,000
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 200,000 Tuesday, a figure unimaginable eight months ago when the scourge first reached the world’s richest nation with its sparkling laboratories, top-flight scientists and stockpiles of medicines and emergency supplies.
“It is completely unfathomable that we’ve reached this point,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher.
The bleak milestone, by far the highest confirmed death toll from the virus in the world, was reported by Johns Hopkins, based on figures supplied by state health authorities. But the real toll is thought to be much higher, in part because many COVID-19 deaths were probably ascribed to other causes, especially early on, before widespread testing.
The number of dead in the U.S. is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 67 days. It is roughly equal to the population of Salt Lake City or Huntsville, Alabama.
And it is still climbing. Deaths are running at close to 770 a day on average, and a widely cited model from the University of Washington predicts the U.S. toll will double to 400,000 by the end of the year as schools and colleges reopen and cold weather sets in. A vaccine is unlikely to become widely available until 2021.
“The idea of 200,000 deaths is really very sobering, in some respects stunning,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, said on CNN.
The U.S. hit the threshold six weeks before a presidential election that is certain to be in part a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis.
In an interview Tuesday with a Detroit TV station, Trump boasted of doing an “amazing” and “incredible” job, adding: “The only thing we’ve done a bad job in is public relations because we haven’t been able to convince people — which is basically the fake news — what a great job we’ve done.”
And in a pre-recorded speech at a virtual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, Trump lashed out at Beijing over what he called “the China virus” and demanded that it be held accountable for having “unleashed this plague onto the world.” China’s ambassador rejected the accusations as baseless.
For five months, America has led the world by far in sheer numbers of confirmed infections and deaths. The U.S. has less than 5% of the globe’s population but more than 20% of the reported deaths.
Is it safe to trick-or-treat this year? What the CDC says about Halloween and COVID-19
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
With Halloween fast approaching, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is offering guidance on how to safely celebrate the holiday.
Traditional trick-or-treating has been deemed a “high-risk” activity by the CDC this Halloween. The popular activity has already been canceledin some areas throughout the country.
“I don’t think trick-or-treating is a great idea,” Dr. Sandra Kesh, an infectious disease specialist and the deputy medical director at New York’s Westmed Medical Group, told Good Housekeeping. “In areas where the community prevalence is lower, I think it’s okay to plan to trick-or-treat, but it’s going to be a different experience than it was last year.”
If you do trick-or-treat, guidelines offered by the Halloween & Costume Association include doing it with people you live with, social distancing from others, wearing a mask and applying hand sanitizer. Homeowners should also wear masks, distance yourself from trick-or-treaters, wash hands often and not hand out candy if you’re sick.
The CDC also recommends you avoid crowded indoor costume parties, indoor haunted houses and hayrides with people not in your household.
Safe alternatives for traditional Halloween activities include carving and decorating pumpkins outside or with members of your household, holding virtual costume contests and holding Halloween scavenger hunts with children, according to the CDC.
“Like with so many other things this year, we have to try to find a silver lining when it comes to celebrating Halloween,” Seattle area pediatrician Dr. Mollie Grow told Today.com. “All the things we’d usually do-in person, like birthdays or graduations, we’ve figured out other ways to do them safely, so we need to apply that same creativity to Halloween.”
Unmasked: NFL fines coaches, teams for not covering faces
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
NFL coaches thumbed their collective — and exposed — noses at the NFL’s mask mandate in Week 2.
The league responded with hefty fines of $100,000 per coach and $250,000 per club. The first three to get fined were Denver’s Vic Fangio, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and Seattle’s Pete Carroll, according to a person with knowledge of the punishment who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the coaches were not identified.
The punishment was meted out a week after the NFL reminded team personnel on the sidelines about the rules for wearing face coverings during the coronavirus pandemic, lest they put the fledgling season at risk.
More coaches and clubs can expect similar punishments as the memo last week from Troy Vincent, who oversees the league’s football operations, was largely ignored throughout the weekend.
Among other offenders: Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Colts coach Frank Reich and Rams coach Sean McVay.
Capping a weekend of deliberate defiance and/or desultory disobedience, Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who said last week he felt Vincent’s memo was directed at him, and Saints coach Sean Payton were shown on a split screen Monday night, both of them breaking the rules.
Gruden wore his mask like a chin strap, and Payton sported his gaiter like a turtleneck.
Following the Raiders’ 34-24 win over the Saints, Gruden revealed he’d had COVID-19 and apologized for violating the rules.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 9:32 AM.
