The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has released the latest statewide situation report, which shows COVID-19 transmission continued to increase in eastern Washington as of the end of May, with a possible uptick in western Washington as well. There are still significant differences in transmission from county to county.
The situation in eastern Washington is of greatest concern, particularly in Benton, Franklin, Spokane and Yakima counties. The report estimates cases and deaths in these counties will soon increase substantially if COVID-19 continues to spread at current levels. By population, these counties are in a comparable position to King County at its peak in March. They may require similar efforts to expand hospital capacity and testing, protect the people at highest risk and increase physical distancing.
“The trends we’re seeing point to the critical importance of actions we can all take, like staying six feet apart and wearing cloth face coverings whenever we’re in public, as well as a need for increased response in these harder-hit areas,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer at DOH. “We’re working closely with the Governor’s Office, local officials and partners to identify additional ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in these regions. Every single person in our state can and must do their part to help by following public health recommendations.”
While case counts had been trending flat in western Washington, small increases are now being observed. State and local officials will continue to monitor the region carefully to determine whether the slight increase in COVID-19 transmission shown in the report continues to grow. Report findings include possible transmission increases over Memorial Day weekend, but would not include increases that may have occurred following recent protests.
The report also includes a new measure called Progress to Zero for each county, which shows how far cases have declined from the peak level of activity. This measure varies considerably across the state, with some counties showing large decreases and other counties that have not yet reached a peak number of cases.
The most recent estimates of transmission in eastern and western Washington are also available in the state’s risk assessment dashboard in the COVID-19 Disease Activity tab and are updated weekly. DOH partnered with Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling and the Microsoft AI for Health program to develop the report and estimates.
More information on COVID-19 can be found on the DOH website or at coronavirus.wa.gov.
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The above is a press release from the Washington State Department of Health. The Auburn Examiner has not independently verified its contents and encourages our readers to personally verify any information they find may be overly biased or questionable. The publication of this press release does not indicate an endorsement of its contents.
People with COVID-19 are increasing day by day. Don’t know how and when the number of reports will start decreasing. I am in Chicago and here more new 600 known cases were added on Tuesday. Stay safe.
This all seems so phony. At the very least it’s a “the horse is already out of the barn” situation. Dr. Fauci and many other experts tell us it’s not helpful. Then of couse they all keep changing their mind depending which way the proverbial wind is blowing. Then of course there are the credible medical reports citing a concern about less oxxygen availibility. It was recently demonstrated there is a 2% drop oxygen reduction beneath the mask along with increased levels of unhealthy air.
You just cannot trust government to get it right nor to be honest. Look at the N95 craze. I mean, don’t wear anything that actually works! We’re told to reserve them for healthcare workers, yet availibility is fine. Just imagine the glut of these things there will soon be.
Government at nearly every level has lost credibility with the people. They don’t get things right. And even when they do, they lie when it suits them.