Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Wednesday in Washington state
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,271 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths Wednesday.
Pierce County reported 158 cases Wednesday and one new death. The county has 511 deaths likely caused by COVID-19, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 364,486 cases and 5,247 deaths. Those numbers are up from 363,215 cases and 5,237 deaths Tuesday. The case total includes 23,125 infections 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.
Hospitalizations
As of March 11, the date with the most recent complete data, 31 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were stable at 36 in mid-March.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,236) approximately 75.3% (931) were occupied by patients Tuesday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 7.9% (98) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients. That number is trending down.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington has had an increasing case rate of 88 per 100,000 people. Sixteen states were lower.
The national rate for the same period was 131 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Michigan has the highest rate in the United States at 379. Arkansas is the lowest at 41.1.
Vaccine
According to the CDC, 3.58 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Washington.
Washington state is in phase 1B tiers 3 and 4 of vaccinations.
On the national level, 195 million doses have been distributed and 150 million shots of the approved vaccines have been given, according to CDC statistics.
As of Wednesday, 21.1% of the adult U.S. population has been fully vaccinated.
Testing
On March 11, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 20,001 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.3% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was a stable 3.3%. More than 5.9 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
According to DOH data, King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 90,692 cases and 1,465 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 42,514. Pierce County has the second-highest number of deaths, at 606, according to DOH, which counts deaths differently than the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
All counties in Washington have at least 100 cases. Only 11 of the state’s 39 counties have case counts of fewer than 1,000.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 30.4 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 552,006 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 2.81 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 128 million.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 6:24 PM.
