More Than 14,000 Coronavirus Cases In Washington; 801 Dead

SEATTLE, WA — More than 14,070 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Washington since January and more than 800 patients have died, according to the Department of Health. State health officials added 228 lab-confirmed illnesses and 15 deaths to Washington's official count Wednesday.

New deaths were reported in King, Pierce, Yakima, Benton, Clark and Franklin counties.

The state's overall positivity rate ticked down to 7.5% among the 187,800 Washingtonians tested. At the University of Washington Virology lab, 5.8% of the 1,609 tests processed Tuesday returned positive for the virus.

Gov. Jay Inslee said the federal government has promised to deliver enough test kits to quadruple Washington's testing capabilities in the coming weeks.

Catch up on the lastest developments in Washington:

Inslee will extend stay-at-home order; details to be released Friday

Washington's "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order will be extended beyond May 4, the governor confirmed Wednesday. Inslee did not give a new expiration date for the order and said more details would be provided on a phased-in approach to reopening the economy Friday.

During a news conference at the Capitol, the governor shared several data points his office monitors to help determine when it is safe to relax certain measures. While progress has been made in some areas, Inslee said, the state has not reached a point where he can scale back all restrictions without the risk that the virus will come "roaring back."

"In every instance of reopening our economy, our guidance for lifting these restrictions is based on data and science," Inslee said. "They're based on our ability to appropriately guard our health."

Among the things that must happen before the state can shift its containment strategy, the governor said, is boosting the state's testing capability and standing up a 1,500-person contact tracing team.

Washington launches COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard

Following the governor's presentation Wednesday, the state launched a new dashboard, allowing members of the public to track the state's progress in mitigating coronavirus risks among five categories.

The disease activity "dial" accounts for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Washington, the rate of spread, modeling data and physical distancing compliance across the state.

A second dial considers available hospital beds, ICU capacity, ventilator numbers and available personal protective equipment. The third dial measures the state's testing capability, based on the health of the supply chain and the number of tests that can be performed daily.

The fourth dial calculates the effectiveness of contact-tracing, judged by the number of investigators working, available isolation sites, how many cases are investigated within 24 hours, and how many contacts are reached within 48 hours.

The final dial measures the number of outbreaks in long-term care facilities per week and accounts for demographic data to determine whether some populations are being disproportionately affected by the virus.

Some elective surgeries can resume under updated state guidance

The governor's office has updated its guidance on non-urgent medical procedures, allowing certain elective operations to continue, provided hospitals have adequate capacity and access to appropriate protective gear.

"Washingtonians have taken the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and that includes out doctors and nurses," Inslee said. "But there are some much-needed procedures that aren't being performed that should be, and we need to make sure that everyone gets the care they need during this time."

The Washington State Hospital Association wrote a letter to the governor earlier this month, asking him to ease restrictions on a wide range of procedures. The Associated Press reports the industry group raised concerns about the negative effect continued delays would have on patients and noted the financial hit to area hospitals.

UW students, faculty manufacture protective gear using 3D printers

Students and faculty members at the University of Washington have teamed up to manufacture personal protective gear for health care workers. The team includes students and staff from the College of Engineering, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Design That Matters and the Global Innovation Exchange, an interdisciplinary program that offers graduate degrees related to technology and robotics.

The Global Innovation Exchange said crews began making reusable, low-cost face shields in late March, utilizing 3D printers that students would typically use for school-related projects. The team aims to assemble 240 shields per day and is working to include face masks, gowns, aerosol boxes and ventilator valves.

According to the project's website, all models are approved by UW Medicine before they go into production are submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for federal approval.

Plans and designs for all projects are open source and available for public use, including instructions.

Students are seeking donations to fund the purchase of raw materials and adapt more facilities to support production.

Learn more about the project here.

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

Total confirmed cases: 14,070 (801 deaths)

King: 6,103 cases (438 deaths)
Snohomish: 2,389 cases (108 deaths)
Pierce: 1,306 cases (49 deaths)
Yakima: 1,082 cases (47 deaths)
Benton: 422 cases (40 deaths)
Spokane: 353 cases (20 deaths)
Skagit: 322 cases (12 deaths)
Clark: 317 cases (19 deaths)
Whatcom: 294 cases (28 deaths)
Franklin: 276 cases (8 deaths)
Island: 168 cases (9 deaths)
Grant: 155 cases (3 deaths)
Kitsap: 148 cases (2 deaths)
Thurston: 104 cases (1 death)
Chelan: 98 cases (5 deaths)
Douglas: 77 cases (1 death)
Walla Walla: 62 cases
Adams: 47 cases
Cowlitz: 41 cases
Lewis: 29 cases (3 deaths)
Jefferson: 28 cases
Mason: 23 cases (1 death)
Okanogan: 21 cases (1 death)
Clallam: 18 cases
Asotin: 17 cases (1 death)
Klickitat: 16 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

At least 76 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.