Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Thursday in Washington
The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,223 new cases of COVID-19 and 125 deaths Thursday. The high number of new deaths is due to a Jan. 14-20 data processing backlog, DOH said.
Pierce County reported 304 cases Thursday and nine new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 373 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 296,087 cases and 4,065 deaths. Those numbers are up from 293,864 cases Wednesday and 3,940 deaths Tuesday. The case total includes 12,899 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. 2, the date with the most recent complete data, 98 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 112 in mid-January.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,197), approximately 81% (969) were occupied by patients Thursday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 18.5% (221) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Case rates
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24 per 100,000 people. Five states were lower.
The national rate for the same period was 58.4 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Arizona has the highest rate in the United States at 95.8. Hawaii is the lowest at 8.3.
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, 37.9 million doses have been distributed and 17.5 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. 2, the most recent date with confirmed testing data, 21,839 specimens were collected statewide, with 11% testing positive.
The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 9.9%. More than 4.3 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 74,500 cases and 1,191 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 31,781. Snohomish County has the second-highest number of deaths at 467.
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 24.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 409,667 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday 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 97 million.
This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Here are the latest COVID-19 case numbers confirmed Thursday in Washington."
