Washington Reports 800 New Coronavirus Cases, 19 More Deaths

SEATTLE, WA — Health officials reported 800 new coronavirus cases and 19 additional deaths in Washington on Friday. Per the latest data, at least 66,139 patients have tested positive in Washington since the crisis began, and 1,755 patients have died from complications linked to COVID-19.

At least 4,422 new illnesses have been confirmed in Washington over the last seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's case tracker. The latest figures continue to show improvement in the daily number of illnesses reported. However, most of the state's counties still show a rate of cases by population much higher than the target threshold of 25 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days.

The state Department of Health is in the process of changing how it reports negative tests, which will soon reflect all negative results, including those recorded among people tested multiple times. Until the upgrade is complete, updated information on positive and negative tests is unavailable.

Weekly report indicates new coronavirus cases are plateauing in most counties

Washington's latest statewide situation report shows COVID-19 activity moving in the right direction across the state — but there is still a lot of work to be done.

"While this is encouraging news and a sign of our collective efforts, we must not let our guard down," said John Wiesman, state Secretary of Health. "Plateauing is not enough to keep this pandemic under control; we must transition to a state of sustained decline in new cases. It remains critical that we continue to stay home when possible, keep interactions with others brief and wear face coverings."

The report finds reduced transmission rates directly coincided with renewed efforts, including statewide mask mandates and a pause on reopening.

Highlights from the Department of Health:

• The reproductive number is hovering around one. The best estimate of the reproductive number (the estimated number of new people each COVID-19 patient will infect) in western WA was likely between 0.79 and 1.15 on July 26, with a best estimate of 0.97. In eastern WA, the best estimate on July 25 was likely between 0.82 and 1.13, with a best estimate of 0.98. The goal is a reproductive number well below one, which would mean the number of people getting COVID-19 is declining.

• We’re starting to see the impacts of people using face coverings across the state. This report suggests that reductions in the reproductive number are attributable to statewide policy changes like the June 23 and July 7 mask mandates and pausing county movement with the Safe Start plan.

• Case counts are plateauing or declining across age groups in King and Yakima counties. Pierce County case counts may be starting to decline after alarmingly high growth in June and July. Spokane County cases started to decline in 0-39 year olds, but are on the rise again due to a sharp uptick in the 40-69 and 70+ age groups.

Read the full report here.

New research plots course for how schools can reopen

A new report from the Institute of Disease Modeling compared three reopening scenarios, projecting the effects of reopening under varying levels of coronavirus activity.

The model revealed a few notable statistics, shared during a Friday news conference with the state Department of Health:

• If schools were to fully reopen without any coronavirus-preventing countermeasures, as much as 25 percent of staff and 17 percent of students would have the virus and be infectious at school for at least one day during the school year.

• If the rate of coronavirus cases is at 20 per 100,000, 5 percent of schools can expect to have at least one person infected by the coronavirus. At the max rate of 110 per 100,000, that skyrockets to a 42 percent chance of having a coronavirus infection.

• A hybrid model allowing K-5 to rotate their time in the classroom could cut that chance to as low as 0.1 percent of students and 0.2 percent of teachers infect.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for King County, said communities that are successful in sufficiently reducing case counts and transmission are likely to have a chance to restore some in-person instruction before the year is over.

"There are three key messages from this report," Duchin said. "First, reducing the spread of COVID-19 in the community is the most important and effective way to reduce the risk to students, teachers and staff and get our children back to school as safely as possible. Second, there will always be some risk for COVID-19 and schools must take comprehensive steps to protect students and staff. And, third, when community COVID-19 activity decreases sufficiently, resuming in-person education with elementary students first makes most sense."

Right now, only six Washington counties have a two-week rate of cases lower than 25 per 100,000 residents — and the state average remains above 120.

When health officials determine conditions are safe enough to restore some in-person instruction, the model recommends only 17 percent attendance, allowing just the youngest students to return part-time. For high school to return, Duchin says, will require a serious, sustained effort from the community to limit the virus's spread.

Read more: New Model Shows How Washington's Schools Can Safely Reopen

New CDC guidance suggests 3-month immunity window for previously-infected patients

Updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests those previously diagnosed with COVID-19 are protected from reinfection for three months.

People who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to 3 months as long as they do not develop symptoms again," a post on the CDC website reads. "People who develop symptoms again within 3 months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified in their symptoms."

As The Hill reports, earlier research has shown antibodies from recovered patients weaken over time, but the new guidance is the first time the CDC has spoken directly to the duration of protection.

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.

This article originally appeared on the Renton Patch