​287 New Coronavirus Cases In Washington; 6 More Deaths

SEATTLE, WA — State health officials announced 287 newly-confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington on Sunday, as well as six additional deaths from COVID-19.

Sunday's updated figures had a smaller growth in new cases than on Saturday, when 449 new cases were confirmed — the highest increase since April. Sunday's update was roughly in line with the state's daily case growth much of the past week.

At least 23,442 people have tested positive for the virus since the outbreak began, and at least 1,159 people have died.

The state has now tested 405,056 people for the coronavirus, with about 5.9 percent testing positive.

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State's death toll "almost certainly" much higher

Washington's medical examiners have often been unable to determine whether people who died during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic had contracted the virus, suggesting that the state's true death toll may be much higher than what has been officially reported, according to the Seattle Times.

King County, which has done more post-mortem testing for COVID-19 than other counties, has identified dozens of previously unknown cases, including in one woman who died Feb. 6, the Times reported.

The uncertainty means that some Washingtonians whose loved ones died after contracting pneumonia or other respiratory illnesses may never know whether the coronavirus was responsible for their deaths.

Customers flock to reopened shopping malls

In Pierce County, which moved this week into Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan, shoppers lined up outside a Puyallup shopping mall on Saturday as the facility prepared to open its doors for the first time in months, KING5 reported.

Only a fraction of the shops inside the mall had enough staff and supplies to reopen by Saturday, the station reported, but that didn't stop a steady stream of customers from coming.

The mall implemented a number of safety measures to curb the spread of the virus, including spaced-out tables at the food court and plexiglass at food stands, KING5 reported.

Coronavirus cases 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.