COVID-19 case numbers explode in WA, according to data released Monday by DOH
COVID-19 is on a rampage through Washington, based on data released by the state Department of Health on Monday. The state recorded 6,037 new cases after breaking records in the last week.
The state reported 6,883 cases on Dec. 30; 10,470 cases on Dec. 31; 8,521 cases on New Year’s Day; and 8,054 cases on Sunday.
As of Monday, statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus were 882,144 cases and 9,853 deaths. The case total included 103,033 infections listed as probable. Death data was not updated from Thursday’s figure due to a technical issue, DOH said. In addition, the total case count could have as many as 2,000 duplicates that DOH is working to eliminate, it said.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.7 million, according to the latest U.S. Census figures.
Hospitalization
From Dec. 22-28, the most recent period with complete data, 15.6 percent of staffed intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Washington were occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington has had a sharply upward trending case rate of 428 per 100,000 people.
The national rate for the same period was 666 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccine
According to DOH, 62.8 percent of the total state population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
On the national level, 62 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, according to CDC statistics.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 55.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 827,312 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest total number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 5.44 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 292 million.
Testing
On Sept. 15, DOH stopped updating testing statistics on its website because it was having difficulty processing an increase in data. On Jan. 3, the agency said the halt in updating will continue through February 2022.
This story was originally published January 3, 2022 at 5:45 PM.
