Washington Reports 334 New Coronavirus Cases, 9 More Deaths

SEATTLE, WA — Health officials reported 334 new coronavirus cases and nine additional deaths in Washington on Tuesday. Per the latest data, at least 71,705 patients have tested positive in the state since the crisis began, and 1,876 patients have died from complications linked to COVID-19.

At least 3,650 new illnesses have been confirmed in Washington over the last seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's case tracker. The number of new cases reported statewide has continued to improve in recent weeks. However, much of Washington's counties still show a rate of cases by population much higher than the target threshold of 25 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days.

State upgrades system to reflect data for all negative tests

The Washington State Department of Health has completed system upgrades, restoring daily updates to the rate of positive and negative tests, while better reflecting the "true volume" of testing being done in the state.

Previously, the health department tracked tests by person, meaning those who have tested negative multiple times were only counted once. Under the new system, the state reports the total number of tests completed since the pandemic began.

According to Tuesday's data, the state has processed 1,380,104 tests to date. The state said overall testing trends remain "largely the same."

From the state Department of Health:

• Total tests - The DOH data dashboard, and the risk assessment dashboard will now report on the total number of tests instead of the total individuals who were tested. This is a change from the old approach, which counted just one test per person, even if someone was tested more than once. With this new change, every test is counted, and the new data will improve our understanding of the testing situation as it now fully reflects the actual testing volume. This change was made to be more in line with other states’ methodologies as well as the CDC.
• Percent positive – The percent of total tests that are positive will also shift from being based on the percentage of unique individuals who test positive to the percentage of tests that are positive. While the data will change, and we anticipate the percent positive will decrease somewhat because we are now accounting for total tests, the dashboard visualizations will stay the same.
• Daily Testing Rate– We will add this metric on the Risk Assessment dashboard. This additional measure helps us understand the per capita testing levels in the state and by county. The new measure allows easy comparisons of counties and other locations allowing us to better benchmark our progress. It is calculated by dividing the average number of molecular tests performed over the past week by the population in the county or state and then multiplying by 100,000. We will not be including any targets at this time, but that could change. This metric will replace the current, “Individuals tested per new case” on the risk assessment dashboard (which was an additional way of expressing the “percent positive” metric).

Coronavirus case counts fall across the US

The number of new coronavirus illnesses reported across the nation has fallen about 21 percent since early August, down to about 43,000 each day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. i

The Associated Press reports that infectious disease experts credit more Americans wearing face coverings as one factor in the improvement, but caution that a lack of testing in some areas could be misrepresenting the level of progress in some states.

"We're grossly under-testing in some of the places that are still having high caseloads," said Dr. Johnathan Quick, a pandemic response expert. Quick pointed to Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and North Dakota as potential problem areas.

While the signs of improvement are welcome, Quick said new infections remain well above the levels recorded in the spring, when daily cases peaked around 34,000. On average, nearly 1,000 Americans are still dying from the virus daily.

Read more: New US virus cases fall as masks gain favor but testing lags

UW Medicine doctors share safety tips for resuming some youth sports

While most school districts across the state have announced remote-learning plans for the near future, doctors are sharing some ideas for how certain youth sports may be able to safely resume with proper precautions.

Phase 2 restrictions prevent sports that require contact, which rules out soccer, volleyball, basketball and football. However, some organized sports that allow for more distance, like golf, cross country and tennis, may be able to resume sometime after school begins.

According to Dr. Jonathan Drezner, the director of UW Medicine's Center for Sports Cardiology, success will require coaches and parents to consider five key factors:

1. Mask usage: all teammates should wear masks going to and from practices, as well as during practice if they're close to other players or teammates.
2. How to enforce physical distancing: while exercising, athletes should have around 10 to 12 feet of personal space.
3. Recognizing the symptoms: adults, parents, coaches and even athletes themselves will need to be able to quickly spot and report any COVID-19 symptoms, and stay away from practice if they exhibit any themselves.
4. Considering logistics: carpools are likely out for now, and busses to take teams to and from away games may also be unavailable, meaning parents and teams will likely have to work out alternative transportation plans.
5. What rules will be in place at practice: how do coaches keep kids from mingling and possibly transmitting the disease before and after practice, and how can they be kept apart while running drills.

Read more: How Can We Make Youth Sports Safe During The Pandemic?

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.