State passes 1 million COVID pandemic cases as WA adds 17,000 more Wednesday
Washington has now seen at least 1 million cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, based on data released by the state Department of Health on Wednesday. The state recorded 17,464 new cases Wednesday and added 75 deaths since Monday.
As of Wednesday, statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus were 1,009,187 cases and 10,103 deaths. The case total included 120,449 infections listed as probable.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.7 million, according to the latest U.S. Census figures.
Hospitalization
From Dec. 31-Jan. 6, the most recent period with complete data, 22.4 percent of staffed intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Washington were occupied by COVID-19 patients. Preliminary data showed that number climbing to 27.3 percent through Tuesday.
Acute care hospitals in Washington reported a total of 1,965 COVID-19 patients occupying beds Tuesday with 159 on ventilators.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington has had a sharply upward trending case rate of 1,359 per 100,000 people.
The national rate for the same period was 1,605 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccine
According to DOH, 63 percent of the total state population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
On the national level, 62.7 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, according to CDC statistics.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 62.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 843,624 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest total number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 5.51 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 315 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.
