Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Wednesday in Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,526 new cases of COVID-19 and 51 deaths Wednesday.
Pierce County reported 222 cases Wednesday and six new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 294 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 242,330 cases and 3,420 deaths. The case total includes 9,337 cases listed as probable. Those numbers are up from 240,804 cases and 3,369 deaths on Tuesday. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Hospitalizations
As of Dec. 11, the date with the most recent complete data, 114 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 99 in late-December.
About 12.4% (1,088) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients Wednesday. In the state’s intensive care units, 19.2% (235) of staffed adult beds were occupied by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Testing
On Dec. 19, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 10,884 specimens were collected statewide, with 12.6% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 8.8%. More than 3.8 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.
County numbers
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 61,710 cases and 1,037 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 25,464. Snohomish County has the second-highest deaths at 386.
All counties in Washington have cases. Only four counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24.3 per 100,000 people.
The national rate for the same period is 54.3 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California has the highest rate in the United States, at 94.8. Hawaii is the lowest, at 6.6.
Vaccine
So far, 59,491 people have been vaccinated in Washington and 356,650 doses have been delivered to the state.
This week, 57,500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 44,500 of the Moderna vaccine were expected to be delivered to the state, according to DOH.
The state is expecting to distribute 43,375 doses to 87 sites in 26 counties this week. Another 58,650 doses are expected to be delivered to long term care facilities and 17 tribes and Urban Indian Health Programs.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 19.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 341,845 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 82 million.
