Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Thursday in Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 3,353 new cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths Thursday.
Pierce County reported 302 cases Thursday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 322 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 264,012 cases and 3,634 deaths. The case total includes 10,611 cases listed as probable. Those numbers are up from 260,659 cases and 3,605 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. 19, the date with the most recent complete data, 96 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 96 in late December.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,223), approximately 81.7% (999) were occupied by patients Thursday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 19.8% (242) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 34.6 per 100,000 people. Five states are lower.
The national rate for the same period is 68.7 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New Jersey has the highest rate in the United States at 136.7. Hawaii is the lowest at 10.
Vaccine
According to the CDC, 121,354 people have been vaccinated with a first dose in Washington and 518,550 doses have been delivered to the state as of Thursday. Currently approved vaccines require two shots for maximum effectiveness.
Currently, Washington state is in phase 1A of vaccinations. That phase includes high-risk health care workers, high-risk first responders and residents and staff of congregate living settings such as nursing homes.
On the national level, 21.4 million doses have been distributed and 5.9 million people have received the first shot of the approved vaccines. The population of the United States is approximately 328 million.
Testing
On Dec. 27, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 5,831 specimens were collected statewide, with 17.5% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 10.7%. More than 3.9 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 66,998 cases and 1,093 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 27,769. Snohomish County has the second-highest number of deaths at 408.
All counties in Washington have cases. Only four counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 21 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 364,550 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday 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 87 million.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 4:56 PM.
