49 New Coronavirus Cases In King County; 1 More Dead

SEATTLE, WA — King County reported 49 new coronavirus cases Monday, and the state's only new death linked to COVID-19. Monday marked the second consecutive day where just one death was reported statewide.

Across Washington, the Department of Health added 178 new coronavirus cases, bringing the official state tally to 18,611 illnesses and 1,002 deaths. According to state data, 6.4 percent of tests have returned positive among 289,135 Washingtonians tested since February.

Lab tests have confirmed 7,529 infections and 523 deaths in King County since the crisis began.

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Catch up on the latest developments:

Inslee approves restart for all elective medical procedures, including dentistry

All dentist offices and family medical practices can reopen immediately reopen to patients, as long as they can meet a series of new safety guidelines provided by the state. Gov. Jay Inslee announced the restart of all elective procedures Monday afternoon.

Inslee said the rules were crafted with input from health care professionals, including the Washington Nurses Association.

Under the governor's guidance, medical offices must secure enough personal protective equipment for their staff members, enforce physical distancing and screen visitors for COVID-19 symptoms before they are treated.

Inslee said each facility must also have a plan in place to scale back services if there is an increase in coronavirus cases that places a strain on the health care system.

Read more about the updated rules for medical services here.

UW Medicine announces furloughs for 1,500 staff

The University of Washington Medicine system will furlough 1,500 staffers as hospital leadership faces a projected $500 million loss in revenue by the end of summer.

UW Medicine has been at the forefront of the coronavirus response in Washington and nationally, processing thousands of coronavirus tests per day and creating epidemiological models that have been used to predict the virus's spread across the United States.

The high cost of the coronavirus response, coupled with substantial lost revenue from non-emergency procedures, has had a significant impact on the hospital's bottom line.

According to an announcement published Monday, furloughs will range in length from one to eight weeks, and employees will be able to retain their health insurance and other benefits. The furloughs will impact health care workers, management and administrative staff at hospitals and clinics across UW Medicine, including Harborview Medical Center and Valley Medical Center.

Last week, UW Medicine's CEO said several other cost-saving measures will be implemented before the system can achieve financial stability.

Read more about the planned furloughs here.

Washington's top health official to step down in January

Dr. John Wiesman, the state secretary of health, will step down in January to take a faculty job at the University of North Carolina.

The Department of Health announced Wiesman's pending departure Monday, saying Wiesman accepted the job before the public health crisis and tendered his resignation, effective Jan. 10, 2021, at the beginning of March.

According to state health officials, all Department of Health staff were notified the same week, but they held off on publicly announcing Wiesman's plans to keep the focus on the state's COVID-19 response.

Read more about the secretary's resignation here.

10th Washington county moves to phase 2

Asotin County is the latest Washington county to be approved for phase 2 of the governor's Safe Start reopening plan, allowing for more businesses to resume operation ahead of schedule.

Counties with a population under 75,000 people and no new coronavirus cases within three weeks are eligible to reply for expedited reopening.

Asotin, located at the southeastern tip of the state, joins nine other counties that were previously approved for the second phase, including Stevens, Skamania and Whitman counties. An application remains under review for Kittitas County, while Grays Harbor and Jefferson counties have not applied.

Read more about Asotin County's reopening here.

Sound Transit will bring back train fares in June, offered at a reduced rate

Sound Transit will restart fare collections on Sounder and Link trains beginning June 1, but tickets will be priced lower until July. The transit agency's "Recovery Fare" initiative will charge $1 for light trail trips and $2 aboard Sounder trains. ST Express buses will continue to operate without fares to allow for rear passenger boarding.

In Pierce County, several ST Express routes operated by Pierce Transit will resume full service on May 24:

• Routes 560, 574, 577, and 594 will return to full weekday service.
• Route 578 will return to full weekday service, along with additional trips during the p.m. peak to account for reduced Sounder South service.
• Routes 566, 586, 590, and 592 will return to most weekday service.
• Route 595 will return to some weekday service.
• Routes 580 and 596 will have service correspond to the reduced Sounder Schedule.
• Routes 544 and 567 remain temporarily canceled.

Coronavirus cases by city:

Location	Confirmed Cases	Deaths
Shoreline	352	54
Lake Forest Park	30	0
Kenmore	70	7
Yarrow Point	2	0
Bothell	90	10
Woodinville	79	8
Duvall	20	1
Seattle	2,312	120
Kirkland	312	54
Redmond	234	49
Medina	11	0
Clyde Hill	8	1
Bellevue	390	30
Sammamish	76	5
Carnation	6	0
Issaquah	161	30
Snoqualmie	24	1
North Bend	23	1
Burien	203	7
Seatac	160	4
Tukwila	150	0
Renton	584	39
Normandy Park	12	0
Des Moines	152	2
Kent	625	33
Covington	69	1
Maple Valley	69	4
Federal Way	454	9
Auburn	467	14
Black Diamond	10	1
Enumclaw	83	24
Milton	1	1
Algona	22	1
Pacific	31	1
Total	7,529	523

View the daily summary of cases, review infections at long-term care facilities, or explore the virus's impact by race and ethnicity.