Coronavirus updates: State reaches 98,661 cases; CDC urges masks on public transportation
Updated at 9 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported on Monday 460 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Sunday and 19 deaths since Friday.
Pierce County reported 54 cases Monday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 185 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 98,661 cases and 2,258 deaths, up from 98,201 cases Sunday and 2,239 deaths Friday. 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. 30, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Oct. 8, the most recent date with complete data, 18,380 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.7% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.3%. More than 2.2 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 25,219 cases and 794 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,713 cases and 267 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 9,324, according to the state’s tally.
All counties in Washington have cases. Eight counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 8.2-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 16.7 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 92.1. Vermont is the lowest at 1.4.
There have been more than 8.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 220,046 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 1.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 40 million.
Should you wear masks on public transportation? CDC urges Americans in new guidance
Updated at 9 a.m.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new guidance urging passengers on trains, planes and other public transportation to wear face masks to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The CDC wrote in the guidance that traveling by public transportation increases the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
“Given how interconnected most transportation systems are across the nation and the world, local transmission can grow quickly into interstate and international transmission when infected persons travel on public conveyances without wearing a mask and with others who are not wearing masks,” the CDC wrote.
The risk of spreading the virus increases when traveling on public transportation because people are in close contact with others and exposed to frequently touched surfaces, according to the CDC guidance.
The White House previously blocked the CDC from implementing a federal mandate that would require all travelers to wear face coverings on public transportation, The New York Times reported. The mandate would have been the strictest federal mandate yet to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The new guidelines come as cases are rising across the U.S. More than 8.2 million in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to Johns Hopkins University, and 220,000 have died nationwide.
As of Friday, COVID-19 cases are rising by 5% or more in 38 states, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. There is an average of around 55,000 new cases daily, which is more than a 16% increase from a week ago.
Most U.S. airports and public transit systems, as well as rideshare services Uber and Lyft, require all workers and passengers to wear facial coverings.
Schools in Washington state, Idaho report COVID-19 outbreaks
Updated at 9 a.m.
Several school districts in Washington state and Idaho have chosen not to report COVID-19 cases at their schools since opening in August, painting an incomplete picture of how the virus is affecting students.
Among the largest districts in Spokane County and Kootenai County in Idaho, only Coeur d’Alene, Central Valley and Mead are reporting newly confirmed cases in a daily dashboard, The Spokesman-Review reported Friday. Spokane Public Schools and others are posting weekly updates.
District officials say Spokane had a spike with 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases compared to two last week, and 45 people in quarantine. The cases affected five buildings, including four cases at Bemiss Elementary and two cases each at Ferris High School and Franklin Elementary.
The Coeur d’Alene School District also saw a surge in cases with 19 positive tests as of Friday and about 300 people in quarantine, including one out of every seven students at Lake City High School. Superintendent Steven Cook said as of Monday students at Coeur d’Alene, Lake City and Venture high schools must return to their previous schedule of attending classes in-person two days a week and remotely the other three days.
The district is scheduled to meet to discuss plans for other schools in the district. Any approved changes will take be implemented Oct. 26.
Central Valley School District reported six cases in the last two weeks, resulting in 48 people being quarantined, officials said. Of those, three positive tests and 15 quarantines occurred at Central Valley High School.
Mead School District reported 11 cases and 116 people quarantined in the last two weeks as of Thursday.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
Airport traffic rebounds to levels not seen since March, TSA says
Updated at 9 a.m.
For the first time since March, more than 1 million people were traveling on airplanes Sunday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said.
TSA said in a Monday news release that it screened more than 1 million travelers Sunday, which is the highest number of passengers screened at checkpoints since March 17. More than 6.1 million people also went through checkpoints during the week from Monday Oct. 12 to Sunday Oct. 18, TSA said.
“That weekly volume also represents the highest weekly volume for TSA since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” TSA said in the news release.
Travel significantly dropped during the coronavirus pandemic. Air travel hit a record low not seen since the early 1960s and 9/11 in April, McClatchy News reported. Fewer than 100,000 people flew several times during April, according to TSA data.
“First time it’s dipped lower than 100,000 during the pandemic,” TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said in April. “Yes, it’s a record low. Exactly one year ago, 2,091,056 people went through security checkpoints.”
Passenger numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels, but 1 million single-day passenger volume “is a noteworthy development,” TSA said.
The busiest travel day since the pandemic began comes as COVID-19 cases are climbing in most U.S. states, NBC News reported. Experts are warning that a possible “third peak” of coronavirus cases could be coming, according to the news outlet.
Some worry it could be the largest wave of cases yet with 17 states reported more new coronavirus cases in the past week than any week before, Business Insider reported.
