Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Thursday in Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 4,425 new cases of COVID-19 and 41 deaths Thursday.
Pierce County reported 414 cases Thursday and three new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 297 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 246,752 cases and 3,461 deaths. The case total includes 9,587 cases listed as probable. Wednesday’s numbers were 242,330 cases and 3,420 deaths. 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. 12, the date with the most recent complete data, 101 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
About 12.4% (1,088) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients Thursday. 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. 20, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 8,735 specimens were collected statewide, with 12.5% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 8.6%. 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 62,580 cases and 1,050 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 25,864. Snohomish County has the second-highest deaths at 390.
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 22.8 per 100,000 people.
The national rate for the same period is 54.5 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
California has the highest rate in the United States, at 91.9. Hawaii is the lowest, at 6.7.
Vaccine
So far, 69,349 people have been vaccinated in Washington and 357,925 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 19.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 345,182 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 83 million.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
