Here’s a recap of today’s COVID-19 news, updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported 866 new cases in the past day for a total of  60,917 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on August 5. There have been 1,653  COVID-19 deaths in Washington.

Note for August 6, 2020: DOH is continuing to experience issues with its reporting system today. The agency is able to report cases, deaths and hospitalizations but have not reported new negative test results since 8/1. DOH is working hard to address the issue and we will post new information as soon as it is available.

For the most recent tally of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health’s dashboard and the state’s COVID-19 risk assessment dashboard.

Safe Start for Long-Term Care announced today. Gov. Jay Inslee and officials from the state Department of Health and Department of Social and Health Services announced a phased plan for long-term care facilities (LTCF) to safely allow visitors, provide trips for residents outside the facility, group activities, and more. It goes into effect August 12.

As with schools, allowable activities at LTCFs depends on sustained prevention of COVID-19 transmission in the community. 

LTCF status starts with which Safe Start phase its county is in, and also takes additional factors into account. Those additional factors include local virus activity, facility access to testing and personal protective equipment, capacity at local hospitals, and virus activity within the facility. Before moving into a new phase, a facility or agency must go 28 days without a resident/client or staff member testing positive for COVID-19 and have a minimum 14-day supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on hand.

Information about the Safe Start for Long-Term Care plan is available on the FamHelp page of DSHS’s website. You can watch the press conference on TVW.

100,000,000. That’s how many pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) will be distributed by the end of this week by the state’s emergency operations center and Department of Enterprise Services. Equipment such as respirators, gloves, gowns, surgical masks and more helps hospitals, first responders and others working on the front lines to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. PPE distribution information is posted weekly at the bottom of the state’s risk assessment dashboard.