Coronavirus updates: State passes 87k cases; NFL has first outbreak
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 773 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and 24 deaths from the last four days.
The department does not report deaths over the weekends any longer and a data problem prevented it from reporting deaths Monday.
Pierce County reported 52 cases Tuesday and three new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 173 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 87,042 cases and 2,124 deaths, up from 86,269 cases and 2,100 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Twenty-five people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Sept. 10, 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. 18, the most recent date with complete data, 12,628 specimens were collected statewide, with 4.1% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.2%. More than 1.8 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 22,237 cases and 761 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,413 cases and 260 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 8,002.
All counties in Washington have cases. Ten counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
On Tuesday, Washington had a 1,150-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 2,154, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,569. Vermont is lowest at 279.
There had been more than 7.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 205,895 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation. More than 1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 33 million.
NFL has its first COVID-19 outbreak as Seahawks prepare to travel to, play in Florida
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The NFL has its first outbreak of COVID-19.
The Seahawks are on their way to play in the league’s state with the most coronavirus cases, per capita.
But Pete Carroll is not worried.
The Tennessee Titans suspended in-person activities at their team facility until at least Saturday after the NFL said the Titans had three players and five other team personnel test positive for the COVID-19 virus.
The Titans played last weekend at the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings shut down their team facility through at least Wednesday.
The Seahawks are scheduled to host the Vikings Oct. 11.
This weekend, Carroll and his five dozen or so players plus 70-some coaches and staffers travel to Miami to play the Dolphins in front of what is expected to be 13,000 fans. Last week, Florida’s governor lifted all COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants and bars, saying they could host patrons at full capacities. The state is basically back open from the pandemic.
Florida has about three times the population of Washington, 21.5 million to 7.5 million. As of Tuesday, Florida had almost eight times the total number of COVID-19 cases than Washington, 705,000 to 90,600. Florida had about seven times more deaths than Washington, more than 14,000 to the Evergreen State’s 2,200.
Dolphins president Tom Garfinkel told si.com last month: “By the end of July, positive rates in Miami-Dade County were above 20%. One out of every five people had it.”
Those rates have improved.
Carroll said his team’s infectious control personnel and staff have been talking to the managers of the Miami resort hotel in which the Seahawks will be staying Friday and Saturday nights for Sunday’s game. The coach said the hotel has assured the Seahawks it will be following all of the NFL’s protocols for road-team travel.
In Atlanta for Seattle’s first road game this season, the team’s hotel had a large man in front of the front door to the lobby enforcing that all who entered were wearing masks. Access from other ways into the hotel was limited. Elevators had a maximum capacity of two, though the players mainly took the stairs and stayed on low floors. Signs all over the hotel in Atlanta stated wearing masks was mandatory for all.
Asked if he and his team were taking extra precautions for the trip to Miami in case the Seahawks’ hotel there was more open than in Atlanta, by nature of Florida being more open than most states, Carroll shook his head before the question was finished.
“Holy cow. That can’t happen. That just can’t happen,” the NFL’s oldest coach at age 69 said. “We really...we can’t let that...I mean, I’m not thinking that, at all. We can’t let the environment make us vulnerable. We can’t let that happen. So we will do everything we can and take every precaution possible.”
Are you heading into a coronavirus hot spot? A new Google Maps feature can warn you
Updated at 9:10 a.m.
Google recently announced a new feature for its map app designed to help users “navigate safely” by sharing the latest coronavirus data available for where they are, or where they’re going.
Users won’t have to wonder if they’re heading into an area with a high level of coronavirus activity — they’ll know, when using the Google Map’s “COVID-19 info” layer, according to Google.
The new COVID-19 info layer is available on Google Maps for iOS and Android phones, and can be found alongside the other map application layers. Tap on the layers icon toward the top right of the screen, and select “COVID-19 info.”
The tool “shows critical information about COVID-19 cases in an area so you can make more informed decisions about where to go and what to do,” Google said in a blog post.
Using data from Johns Hopkins University, The New York Times, and Wikipedia, the COVID layer displays the average number of new cases per 100,000 for that part of the map, and an arrow indicating if cases are rising or falling, according to the blog post.
Additionally, map sections are color coded based on the number of new cases, from gray, to yellow, orange, dark orange, red, and dark red, with dark red being the worst.
“Trending case data is visible at the country level for all 220 countries and territories that Google Maps supports, along with state or province, county, and city-level data where available,” Google said.
Google began rolling out the new feature last week, and it may take several days or more before it’s available to all iOS and Android users, outlets report.
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
