Coronavirus updates: Washington launches notification app; state reaches 165,019 cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Monday reported 2,319 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 71 new deaths. The death count also covers the weekend, as the department no longer reports deaths on weekends.
Pierce County reported 166 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and four additional deaths. Pierce County had a total of 235 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 165,019 cases and 2,774 deaths, up from 162,700 cases and 2,703 deaths on Sunday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 44,348 cases and 881 deaths. Yakima County has 13,770 cases and 297 deaths. Pierce is second in cases with 17,164.
All counties in Washington have cases.
Washington launches statewide COVID-19 notification app
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Washington state on Monday launched a statewide coronavirus exposure app, joining more than a dozen states that have already enlisted the use of smartphone technology in the ongoing effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
People with iPhones can now enable the ‘exposure notifications’ feature that is already in their phone’s settings, and Android devices can download the app, called WA Notify. Use of the app is voluntary and users can opt out at any time. The statewide expansion comes after a monthlong pilot project used by 3,500 participants — including students, faculty and staff — at the University of Washington.
“This offers Washingtonians another tool to help control the pandemic,” state Secretary of Health John Wiesman said of the program.
The technology, created by Apple and Google, is in use in more than 30 countries and more than a dozen states in the U.S., including New York, Colorado and Virginia. Washington was among five states with pilot programs already testing the technology.
Wiesman cited modeling for King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties done by Oxford, Stanford and Google that predicted significant decreases in both infections and deaths if at least 15% of people use the app. Washington officials are hoping to exceed that 15% threshold.
At a news conference announcing the app, Gov. Jay Inslee said more than 200,000 people had already signed up since it went live that morning.
“A lot of people do understand the benefit of this,” Inslee said.
Health officials said that when thinking through how many people might use WA Notify, it was estimated that Washington’s age 18 and up population is about 5.4 million, of which about 3.6 million are believed to have smart phones. Based on the early interest so far, officials believe that the minimum goal of 540,000 people participating will be exceeded.
The app uses Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus. Phones using WA Notify exchange random codes, which officials said are completely anonymous, with no location tracking or exchange of personal information.
When someone tests positive for the virus, a health official will ask them if they have WA Notify and will give them a verification code — which is not tied to their identity — to enter into the app. Once entered, the app can determine users who have been near the person who tested positive and notify them of possible exposure. No information about who may have exposed them or where the exposure occurred is included in the notification. The notification will direct people to a website with information on next steps, including how and where to get tested.
Washington psychiatric hospital sees spike in COVID-19 cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
More than 30 patients and staff at Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital are suffering from coronavirus — the biggest spike in cases to date — and more than 150 have tested positive since the virus first hit the facility in March.
Ten Western State Hospital patients on a single ward got sick within a few days of each other after a nurse tested positive about a week ago. The patients ranged in age of 62 to 82 and were moved to the hospital’s special COVID-19 ward so they’re kept away from other patients.
Twelve workers tested positive within a three-day span last week, hospital officials said. Most were on the same ward as the patient spike.
“With this news, I am pleading with all of us to hold each other accountable for wearing the correct masks, and wearing them over both your mouth and nose,” hospital CEO Dave Holt told staff in an email. “If a co-worker is not following the masking protocol, please stop them and ask them to mask to protect our patients and staff.”
Officials are scrambling to find nursing staff to work on the COVID-19 ward and have offered overtime pay, according to a Holt email.
There’s also been a COVID-19 spike at several of the state’s residential habilitation centers, with 26 patients and 63 staff testing positive at the Fircrest School, which provides support to about 200 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a home setting.
Twenty patients and 40 workers have also seen positive tests at the Yakima Valley School, while 14 patients and 67 staff at the Lakeland School have caught the virus.
The new spike in cases reflects the increase being seen across the country, said Kelly Von Holtz, spokeswoman for the Department of Social and Health Services, which runs all of these facilities.
“DSHS continues to respond in real time to the virus and works to prevent the spread,” she said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 9:32 AM.
