Coronavirus updates: State reaches 118,570 cases
Updated at 8:40 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,239 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday and 21 deaths since Friday.
Pierce County reported 90 cases Monday and two new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 203 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 118,570 cases and 2,460 deaths, up from 117,331 cases and 2,439 deaths Sunday. 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 Oct. 21, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Oct. 29, the most recent date with complete data, 20,997 specimens were collected statewide, with 5.5% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 4.7%. More than 2.6 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 31,186 cases and 826 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 12,214 cases and 281 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 11,673, 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 17.1-per-100,000-people. The national rate for the same period is 33, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States at 155.8. Vermont is the lowest at 4.9.
There have been more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 238,053 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 1.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 50 million.
Coronavirus cases top 10 million in United States. ‘Daily cases are skyrocketing’
Updated at 8:40 a.m.
Coronavirus has infected more than 10 million people in the United States, Johns Hopkins University reports.
There have been more than 50 million confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus worldwide, with more than 1.25 million deaths, according to the university. The United States leads the world in deaths with more than 237,000. Brazil follows at more than 162,000 deaths.
About 155 million people in the U.S. have been tested for COVID-19, Johns Hopkins University reported.
Former surgeon general Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith will serve as the co-chairs, according to the network.
“Daily cases are skyrocketing,” Biden said Friday, NPR reported. “I want everyone — everyone — to know on Day 1, we’re going to put our plan to control this virus into action.”
“We got hit very badly in the beginning,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NBC News reported. “We never went back down to a baseline that was a very low baseline.”
“There’s a global COVID-19 fatigue,” Fauci said. “People are just tired of being restricted. Not only from a convenience standpoint, but from an economic standpoint. People are losing their jobs. They’re not able to support their families.”
Washington state teachers protest school return in Monroe
Updated at 8:40 a.m.
Teachers in northwestern Washington state have urged school district administrators to stop plans next week to resume some in-person classes for first-graders as coronavirus cases continue to increase.
Teachers in the Monroe School District protested the return-to-school plans at a drive-in rally Monday, honking and chanting while the school board met virtually, KING-TV reported.
“We all want our kids back in school. We miss our students so much and we know we need to be back in buildings, but we can’t do it until it’s safe,” Monroe Education Association President Robyn Hayashi said.
Some educators have also argued that they were not included in the decision-making process.
District administrators announced plans to provide a mix of in-person and at-home learning for first graders, in compliance with Snohomish Health District guidance recommending limited in-person education for younger students.
“We will be best when we have students in front of us,” Superintendent Justin Blasko said. “We care about our students, we care about our staff, we are trying to make the best decisions at this point for our community, for our students, and to continue to progress our kids moving forward.”
Officials said the district is expected to monitor how the next phase of in-person learning goes before making any further decisions on bringing more students back to classrooms in the coming months.
