Health & Fitness
367 New Coronavirus Cases, 9 More Deaths In Washington
Another 367 COVID-19 cases and nine deaths were confirmed in Washington Saturday as the state continues to reopen. Catch up on other news.
SEATTLE, WA — Testing has confirmed another 367 cases of the coronavirus in Washington as of Saturday, and nine more people have died after contracting COVID-19, bringing the state's death toll to 1,213 people.
A total of 25,538 COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed in Washington, as officials warn of a possible resurgence in several parts of the state as more sectors reopen.
According to the latest data, more than 450,000 people have been tested for the coronavirus in Washington, with just under 5.7 percent testing positive.
Across the United States, more than 2 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since January and more than 115,000 have died, according to the New York Times.
Catch up on other recent developments:
Coronavirus transmission likely increasing in Washington
A new report from the Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling has found that coronavirus transmissions are 'likely increasing' in both Eastern and Western Washington.
Their last report prior had also found that transmissions were on the upswing east of the cascades, but had transmissions decreasing in Western Washington. They say that with the whole state now seeing an increase in transmissions, additional precautions or interventions may be necessary to "prevent exponential growth" of the virus.
Researchers are particularly worried about rapid increases of coronavirus transmissions in Yakima, Spokane, Benton and Franklin counties.
They say that, if the situation does not improve, those counties could see "increasingly explosive growth in cases and deaths if not contained, and local prevalence will likely soon exceed the peak reached in King County in late March."
The Washington State Department of Health is aware of the report, and considering several tactics to help the struggling regions. Health officials also say it's an important reminder to all state residents that everyone must take social distancing guidelines seriously to cut transmissions of the coronavirus.
Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Washington. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.
Missing unemployment benefits could arrive soon
People whose unemployment benefits were paused last month as Washington state officials investigated a massive fraud scheme may finally receive relief in about at week, after the Employment Security Department assigned several hundred employees to work on the backlogged claims, KING5 reported.
The 300 newly-assigned employees will also get help starting next week from the National Guard, whose troops will help process claims.
There are about 78,000 claims that remain stuck in review because of identification issues. On Thursday, ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine pledged to resolve the most urgent cases swiftly.
The troops will be trained to resolve identity verification issues that have come to the forefront since the state announced in May that it paid out between $550 million to $650 million through tens of thousands of fraudulent claims. LeVine said Thursday that the state has since recovered $337 million.
Coronavirus cases by county:
| County | Confirmed Cases | Hospitalizations | Deaths |
| Adams | 90 (+1) | 7 (+1) | 0 |
| Asotin | 20 | 1 | 2 |
| Benton | 1,106 (+31) | 172 (+4) | 73 (+1) |
| Chelan | 272 (+1) | 18 | 6 |
| Clallam | 29 (+1) | 3 | 0 |
| Clark | 611 (+7) | 94 (+1) | 27 |
| Columbia | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cowlitz | 105 (+3) | 16 | 0 |
| Douglas | 180 (+2) | 12 | 3 |
| Ferry | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Franklin | 852 (+25) | 99 (+2) | 25 |
| Garfield | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant | 253 (+12) | 29 (+1) | 5 |
| Grays Harbor | 20 | 7 | 0 |
| Island | 182 | 32 | 11 |
| Jefferson | 31 | 6 | 0 |
| King | 8,694 (+83) | 1,692 (+8) | 591 (+5) |
| Kitsap | 176 (+3) | 27 | 2 |
| Kittitas | 92 | 1 | 0 |
| Klickitat | 45 (+3) | 6 | 3 |
| Lewis | 38 | 10 | 3 |
| Lincoln | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mason | 39 | 5 | 1 |
| Okanogan | 57 | 5 | 1 |
| Pacific | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| Pend Orielle | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierce | 2,111 (+14) | 379 (+1) | 88 |
| San Juan | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| Skagit | 457 (+3) | 53 | 15 |
| Skamania | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Snohomish | 3,129 (+22) | 582 (+2) | 156 |
| Spokane | 804 (+13) | 92 (+1) | 37 |
| Stevens | 15 | 4 | 1 |
| Thurston | 187 (+4) | 31 | 4 |
| Wahkiakum | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Walla Walla | 118 | 8 | 3 |
| Whatcom | 440 (+4) | 53 | 38 |
| Whitman | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| Yakima | 5,265 (+277) | 395 (+8) | 117 (+3) |
| Unassigned | 33 (-1) | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 25,538 | 3,845 | 1,213 |
The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.
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