277 New Coronavirus Cases In Washington; 7 More Dead

SEATTLE, WA — Washington added 277 new coronavirus cases to the statewide total Monday afternoon, and seven additional deaths were linked to COVID-19. Monday marked the third consecutive day new deaths reported across the state fell below 10.

Washington's testing postivity rate also trended downward to 7.1%, among 216,320 patients tested since January.

Lab tests have confirmed 15,462 cases since the crisis began in Washington, and 841 people have died.

Catch up on the latest developments:

Inslee signs "Safe Start" reopening order; phase 2 could begin June 1

Gov. Jay Inslee finalized Washington's reopening plan Monday, signing the "Safe Start" order, a four-part set of guidelines for easing social distancing mandates in the weeks and months ahead.

The first phase will be fully in place by Tuesday, restoring vehicle sales, curbside retail pick-up, drive-in faith services, landscaping and car washes. Limited outdoor recreation can also resume on state lands.

Each phase will be separated by at least two weeks, the governor said, and state leaders tentatively plan to begin the second reopening phase by June 1, according to the Seattle Times.

Washington counties with populations below 75,000 and no new cases in three weeks are eligible to apply for a faster reopening plan. According to the governor, 10 counties meet that criteria.

Learn more about the state's reopening plans here.

Hundreds of health workers and first responders have contracted coronavirus in Washington

More than 800 people have filed workers' compensation claims related to COVID-19 illnesses in Washington, according to the Department of Labor & Industries. The Associated Press reports that the number includes 636 health care workers and 37 first responders.

Tracking illnesses among health care workers has proven to be challenging across the nation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said states included information about patients' occupations for just 16% of cases.

According to the AP, even with the incomplete data, nearly 9,300 health care workers were identified as having contracted the virus between Feb. 12 and April 9.

Updated model predicts more COVID-19 deaths amid eased social distancing

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's said a "premature relaxation of social distancing" in more than two dozen states was a top reason its projections on the COVID-19 death toll nearly doubled Monday. Researchers now predict almost 135,000 deaths linked to the coronavirus in the United States.

"The revised projections reflect rising mobility in most US states as well as the easing of social distancing measures expected in 31 states by May 11, indicating that growing contacts among people will promote transmission of the coronavirus," researchers wrote in a news release. "Increases in testing and contact tracing, along with warming seasonal temperatures — factors that could help slow transmission — do not offset rising mobility, thereby fueling a significant increase in projected deaths."

Researchers said their latest national forecasts are based on a new hybrid model, incorporating hospital resource demand with a "disease transmission model."

"This new model is the basis for the sobering new estimate of US deaths," said Dr. Christoper Murray, the IHME director. "The model will allow for regular updating as new data are released on cases, hospitalizations, deaths, testing, and mobility. It can also be used to identify what may be the trajectory to progressively relax social distancing while still limited the risk of large-scale resurgence."

More than 68,400 people across the United States have died from complications linked to COVID-19, according to an update Monday.

In Washington, the IHME model projects 1,159 deaths by August 4th.

New reports show positive results for social distancing in King County

Two recent reports have the rate of transmission has continued to decline in King County thanks to dedicated social distancing efforts. The Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling found the virus's effective reproductive rate — a measure of how many other people a patient infects —has fallen from approximately three people in March down to .64.

The IDM estimated roughly 46,000 people have been infected in King County since the outbreak began, a figure that is nearly 10 times the number of lab-confirmed cases. Public health officials said that estimate likely represents many people who were sick and were not tested, either due to mild illness or being asymptomatic.

Survey finds Seattleites open to social distancing for as long as required

A recent survey of 410 Seattle adults found a large majority would be willing to continue physical and social distancing efforts for as long as they were determined necessary. The second-largest group, about 16%, said they were willing to continue for another one or two months.

Nearly 39% of those surveyed said they would be comfortable ending social distancing once antibody testing was widely available, and 26.7% said their top factor would be a significant drop in new coronavirus cases.

Review the complete survey results here.

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

Total confirmed cases: 15,462 (841 deaths)

King: 6,545 cases (463 deaths)
Snohomish: 2,537 cases (111 deaths)
Pierce: 1,414 cases (50 deaths)
Yakima: 1,372 cases (48 deaths)
Benton: 532 cases (44 deaths)
Spokane: 372 cases (22 deaths)
Franklin: 377 cases (11 deaths)
Skagit: 357 cases (13 deaths)
Clark: 336 cases (19 deaths)
Whatcom: 317 cases (28 deaths)
Island: 169 cases (9 deaths)
Grant: 180 cases (3 deaths)
Kitsap: 150 cases (2 deaths)
Chelan: 120 cases (5 deaths)
Thurston: 113 cases (1 death)
Douglas: 84 cases (1 death)
Walla Walla: 92 cases
Cowlitz: 59 cases
Adams: 48 cases
Lewis: 29 cases (3 deaths)
Jefferson: 28 cases
Mason: 26 cases (1 death)
Okanogan: 21 cases (1 death)
Clallam: 18 cases
Asotin: 18 cases (2 deaths)
Klickitat: 18 cases (3 deaths)
Kittitas: 14 cases
San Juan: 14 cases
Whitman: 14 cases
Grays Harbor: 12 cases
Stevens: 9 cases (1 death)
Pacific: 4 cases
Skamania: 3 cases
Lincoln: 2 cases
Pend Oreille: 2 cases
Wahkiakum: 2 cases
Columbia: 1 case
Ferry: 1 case

52 cases remain unassigned to 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.