Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Wednesday in Washington
The Washington state Department of Health reported 2041 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday. No deaths were reported due to data processing issues, DOH said.
Pierce County reported 302 cases Wednesday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 365 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 294,017 cases and 3,940 deaths. Those numbers are up from 291,976 cases Tuesday. The case total includes 12,759 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Hospitalizations
As of Jan. 1, the date with the most recent complete data, 131 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 112 in early January.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,192), approximately 78.7% (938) were occupied by patients Wednesday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 20.4% (243) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 25.2 per 100,000 people. Six states were lower.
The national rate for the same period was 60.1 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arizona has the highest rate in the United States at 97.4. Hawaii is the lowest at 8.6.
Vaccine
According to DOH, 335,836 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Washington.
As of Wednesday, 608,325 doses had been delivered to state providers and 88,725 had been delivered for the CDC’s long-term care vaccination program. Of those delivered doses, 48.1% had been administered.
Currently approved vaccines require two shots for maximum effectiveness.
Currently, Washington state is in phase 1B tier 1 of vaccinations. That phase adds anyone 65 years and older and people 50 years and older living in multigenerational households.
On the national level, 35.9 million doses have been distributed and 16.5 million shots of the approved vaccines have been given, according to CDC statistics. The population of the United States is approximately 328 million.
Testing
On Jan. 1, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 5,073 specimens were collected statewide, with 15.5% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 10%. More than 4.2 million tests have been conducted in Washington. The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
County numbers
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 74,077 cases and 1,166 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 31,474. Snohomish County has the second-highest number of deaths at 444.
All counties in Washington have cases. Only Columbia, San Juan and Wahkiakum counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
U.S. and world numbers
There have been more than 24.4 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 405,599 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 2 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 96 million.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Wednesday in Washington."
