Coronavirus updates: State passes 291k cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,373 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 37 deaths since Friday. The state did not report data on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
U.S. deaths from the disease which was first reported in Washington one year ago this week topped 400,000 Tuesday.
Pierce County reported 177 cases Tuesday and five new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 365 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 291,989 cases and 3,940 deaths. Those numbers are up from 290,616 cases Monday and 3,903 deaths Friday. The case total includes 12,568 cases listed as probable. 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.
As of Dec. 31, the date with the most recent complete data, 100 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 114 in early January.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,214), approximately 81.9% (994) were occupied by patients Friday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 19.6% (238) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Bill would require schools to reopen during COVID-19 once certain metrics are met
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
In a public hearing on proposed legislation Monday, the nuanced conversation around how and when to reopen schools in Washington state during the COVID-19 pandemic — and who should hold the power to make those decisions — took place on a virtual stage.
The bill in question at the hearing is sponsored by Sen. John Braun of Centralia, a Republican and the Senate Minority Leader, and moderate Democrat Sen. Mark Mullet of Issaquah, along with a handful of other Republican senators. It would set baseline metrics for when school districts and charter schools would be required — not allowed — to offer in-person learning during the pandemic.
“This to me feels like (an) extremely important, time-sensitive decision we need to try to get a solution on within the next week here,” Sen. Mullet said, adding that solving it at end of the 2021 session in April is too late.
In a phone interview Monday, Braun said he’s seen a lot of schools being innovative and offering in-person learning, but that some are “letting their kids down” by not reopening. The point of the bill is to say to districts: “You can’t just keep developing reasons for not being in school. At some point, you’ve got to find a way,” he said.
Current state guidance sorts counties into high, moderate, or low COVID-19 activity based on a combination of case rates and test positivity rates and directs local leaders to also consider trends in cases and hospitalizations. The guidance also includes checklists to ensure strict health and safety measures are followed.
In high-activity counties (over 350 cases per 100,000 over 14 days; over 10% positivity), the state encourages districts to phase-in in-person learning for elementary students and those with the highest needs, in small groups.
In moderate-activity counties (about 50-350 cases per 100,000 over 14 days; 5-10% positivity), it encourages districts to phase-in in-person classes starting with the youngest students not already in-person and middle school students. Over time, it advises adding high schoolers once rates drop below 200 cases per 100,000 over 14 days.
And in areas of low COVID activity (less than 50 cases per 100,000 over 14 days; test positivity at less than 5%), the state recommends schools provide in-person learning for all students.
The recommendations are for local school boards to consider and aren’t legally binding requirements.
Hospital association: ‘Concerns’ about Inslee vaccine plan
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
While the state struggles to bolster its vaccination distribution efforts, the Washington Department of Health on Tuesday began reporting its most updated vaccination numbers on its online COVID-19 data dashboard.
The dashboard, launched months ago, updates Washingtonians every day on the state’s latest number of COVID-19 cases, deaths, hospitalizations, tests and other information. On Tuesday evening, vaccination data was added to the list.
As of Monday night, 294,386 doses had been given, with a seven-day average of 14,064 per day. The state’s goal is to reach 45,000 vaccine doses per day, Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday, promising to add new vaccination sites, mobilize thousands of workers and make everyone 65 and over immediately eligible.
But The Seattle Times reports there is pushback from the health community to Inslee’s plan for meeting the new goal. Instead of waiting for vaccines to arrive before making appointments, providers should operate on the assumption that more supplies are coming and cancel appointments if necessary, Inslee said.
“We have really serious concerns about this idea,” said Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer at a briefing with several other hospital leaders. Nurses would be pulled away from other work for vaccinations that might not happen. And, Sauer said, “I believe the public outrage at having a vaccine appointment scheduled and then canceled will be extreme and will really undermine the confidence in our vaccine delivery system.”
In King County, the state’s most populous and home to Seattle, 109,120 doses have been administered. Pierce County, home to Tacoma, which has given the second-highest number of shots, has administered 33,845 doses, according to state health officials.
The dashboard also reported more than 607,000 doses have been delivered to state health care providers and nearly 89,000 doses have been delivered for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s long-term care vaccination program. About 42% of the delivered doses have been administered, officials said.
Coronavirus deaths top 400,000 in US. ‘Not going to be some magical solution’
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Coronavirus has killed more than 400,000 people in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. reached the grim milestone Tuesday, almost one year since the first COVID-19 case was reported in the country and a little over a month after passing 300,000 coronavirus deaths on Dec. 14, The New York Times reported.
There have been more than 95 million confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus worldwide, with more than 2 million deaths, according to the university. More than 24 million cases have been confirmed in the United States.
The U.S. leads the world in coronavirus deaths, followed by Brazil with more than 210,000 deaths and India with more than 150,000 deaths.
More than 41,000 people in New York have died of the coronavirus, followed by more than 33,000 in California and more than 32,000 in Texas, the university says.
In comparison, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the 2019-20 seasonal flu killed 22,000 people nationally. A 2009 swine flu pandemic killed more than 12,000 people in the United States.
Coronavirus deaths will soon pass the 405,000-person toll of World War II in the United States, The Washington Post reported. The pandemic death toll has already exceeded U.S. war deaths from Vietnam, Korea and World War I.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CBS News she expects the COVID-19 death toll to pass 500,000 in February.
“I think we still have some dark weeks ahead,” Walensky said, according to the network, even as vaccines roll out across the nation.
“We’re not going to hide from the fact that is going to be a tremendous effort that is going to require the hard work of millions of Americans,” said Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., CNN reported. “It’s not going to be some magical solution.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 9:30 AM.
