11,802 Coronavirus Cases Confirmed In Washington; 624 Deaths

SEATTLE, WA — Lab testing has confirmed another 357 cases of the new coronavirus in Washington, and 23 more people have died from COVID-19, according to the latest data released Saturday by the state Department of Health.

A total of 11,802 Washington residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, which has taken the lives of at least 624 people statewide.

The state has tested more than 135,000 people for the virus, with 8.7% testing positive.

King County Metro bus driver dies from coronavirus complications

Samina Hameed, a 59-year-old driver for King County Metro, died Thursday at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue — the agency's first death from COVID-19, the Seattle Times reported.

Hameed had worked for Metro since 2017, and her husband was a fellow driver. They had three children and a daughter-in-law, Metro General Manager Rob Gannon told employees in a message.

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King County Metro drivers, who have been deemed "first responders" by their employer as they continue to work during the coronavirus outbreak, have expressed fears about possible exposure to the virus while on the job.

Several dozen transit workers published an open letter last week addressed to King County Councilmembers, asking for personal protective equipment, more transparency about coworkers that have fallen ill and more consistent cleaning of each bus, among other demands.

Washington could start reopening by May 18, UW model predicts

According to the UW's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Washington could begin safely loosening social distancing restrictions starting the week of May 18, the Associated Press reports. Estimates for other states range from as early as May 4 to as late as the end of June, based on the local status of the epidemic.

The latest projections are an outgrowth of IHME's continued work to forecast the scope of the epidemic in every state and in several other countries. They come as the group's work, which has been influential from the White House to statehouses, is attracting criticism from some disease experts.

In a media briefing Friday, IHME director Dr. Chris Murray cautioned that the potential "opening dates" represent a first take and are likely to change as more information comes in from individual states. Among the key variables are whether deaths are likely to drop sharply once they peak, or whether — as seems to be occurring in New York — they will plateau and decrease slowly.

IHME's modeling has been criticized for being too optimistic and too pessimistic. Earlier estimates that as many as 90,000 American could die have been scaled back to about 60,000, while the swings in some states have been more extreme.

Unemployment help expands in Washington Sunday

Unemployment assistance will drastically expand in Washington Sunday, allowing hundreds of thousands of residents who did not previously qualify for assistance to file claims during the coronavirus crisis.

Staff at the Employment Security Department has worked around the clock to upgrade systems since Congress passed the CARES Act in late March. During a news conference Thursday, the department's commissioner said the new system would be complete by Saturday, and the state would be ready for a "tsunami" of new claims by Sunday morning.

"People are still in deep need and we know that there are hundreds of thousands, if not more, that will be eligible for unemployment assistance," said Suzi LeVine, the Employment Security Department commissioner.

State officials said new jobless claims have risen 950 percent in Washington, with nearly 600,000 filing for unemployment since mid-March. LeVine said her department expected several hundred thousand additional claims over the next two weeks as newly eligible workers seek assistance. See here for key information on how to apply.

Confirmed COVID-19 cases by county (from the Washington Department of Health*)

Total confirmed cases: 11,802 (624 deaths)

King: 5,024 cases (339 deaths)
Snohomish: 2,060 cases (93 deaths)
Pierce: 1,074 cases (32 deaths)
Yakima: 748 cases (35 deaths)
Benton: 304 cases (34 deaths)
Spokane: 298 cases (15 deaths)
Whatcom: 273 cases (26 deaths)
Clark: 264 cases (15 deaths)
Skagit: 230 cases (7 deaths)
Franklin: 177 cases (4 deaths)
Island: 157 cases (8 deaths)
Grant: 137 cases (2 deaths)
Kitsap: 136 cases (1 death)
Thurston: 92 cases (1 death)
Chelan: 65 cases (5 deaths)
Adams: 40 cases
Douglas: 31 cases (1 death)
Jefferson: 29 cases
Cowlitz: 29 cases
Walla Walla: 27 cases
Mason: 22 cases
Lewis: 20 cases (2 deaths)
Klickitat: 16 cases (3 deaths)
San Juan: 15 cases
Clallam: 14 cases
Okanogan: 14 cases
Kittitas: 14 cases
Asotin: 12 cases
Grays Harbor: 12 cases
Whitman: 12 cases
Stevens: 8 cases (1 death)
Skamania: 3 cases
Lincoln: 2 cases
Pend Oreille: 2 cases
Wahkiakum: 2 cases
Columbia: 1 case
Ferry: 1 case
Pacific: 1 case

436 cases remain unassigned to any individual counties. The state is still determining how to sort the hundreds of cases with no definite origin.

*Some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.