Daily COVID-19 cases for Washington state reach all-time high Friday
The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,142 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths on Friday. The case number is a record high for the state. The previous record of 1,770 was set on Nov. 7.
Pierce County reported 180 cases Friday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 208 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Friday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 125,498 cases and 2,519 deaths, up from 123,356 cases and 2,507 deaths Thursday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Thirty-six people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 25, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Nov. 2, the most recent date with complete data, a record high 27,796 specimens were collected statewide, with 5.7% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 5.3%. More than 2.7 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 33,043 cases and 836 deaths. Pierce County is second, with 12,547 cases, according to the state’s tally. That number differs from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s tally due to lags in reporting data. Yakima County has the second highest number of deaths at 283.
All counties in Washington have cases. Seven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 20.5 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 41.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States, at 169.2 Hawaii is the lowest, at 7.
There have been more than 10.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 243,466 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Friday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 53 million.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 3:41 PM.
