Recap of recent COVID-19 news, updates

||| FROM STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT |||

Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 187,327 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on December 7. There have been 2,967 COVID-19 deaths in Washington.

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.

Governor’s December 8 press conference on COVID-19 recording available. Governor Jay Inslee held a press conference to provide an update on the state’s ongoing response to COVID-19 and discuss economic relief for individuals and businesses impacted by the virus. Watch the recording here.

Inslee announces new economic supports and extension of restrictions. Gov. Jay Inslee today announced additional economic supports for workers and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Inslee also announced a three-week extension of the state’s current restrictions which will now be in place until January 4, 2021.

Read the rest of the story on the governor’s Medium page.

Find more information on Working Washington Small Business grants here.

Job search requirements to remain suspended through January 19, 2021. The governor, with support from the Legislature, has announced that job search requirements will remain suspended through Jan. 19, 2021. This means the soonest claimants will be required to actively seek work is the week of January 24. You can continue to answer “no” to the job search question on your weekly claim until the suspension is lifted. More information is available here.

Minimize the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season. Given the high rates of COVID-19 in Washington and around the country, our winter holiday celebrations need to look different than in years past. Many of the ways we traditionally celebrate the holidays include contact with non-household members in large group settings.

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate, it is important to keep the following in mind:

• Avoid close contact with people outside of your household. Stay at least 6 feet away from all other people who are not part of your household.
• Wear a cloth face covering anytime you are with people not from your household. This includes family members and close friends who do not live with you. Make sure the face covering fits snugly over your nose and mouth.
• Avoid confined indoor spaces. Outdoor activities are safer than indoor activities. If participating in an outdoor event is not possible and you choose to attend an indoor event, avoid crowded poorly ventilated, and fully enclosed indoor spaces. Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors if possible.
• Wash or sanitize your hands (and the hands of little ones) often.
• Stay home if you are sick or were recently exposed to someone with COVID-19. If you are sick, have symptoms of COVID-19, or have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, stay home and away from others.

Read the full news release here.

More information on winter holidays and COVID-19 is available here.

In Case You Missed It

More than 1 million users enable WA Notify within first four days. More than 1,000,000 users activated WA Notify, a simple, anonymous exposure notification tool that uses smartphones to help stop the spread of COVID-19. More Washington residents opted in within the first 24 hours than any other state using this technology. As of 10 a.m. on Dec. 4, the number of phones with WA Notify is more than 19% of the number of Washington adults. WA Notify is a simple, anonymous exposure notification tool to help stop the spread of COVID-19. By adding WA Notify to your smartphone, you will be alerted if you’ve spent time near another WA Notify user who later tests positive for COVID-19. Read the full news release here.

To learn more:

• Visit WANotify.org to see how easy it is to add WA Notify to your smartphone or to learn more.
• Information about WA Notify is available in multiple languages — choose from the full list at WANotify.org/languages.
• View a video that describes how WA Notify works.
• View a 30-second WA Notify ad.

Update on COVID-19 case reporting backlog, duplicates. DOH has caught up with processing most of the backlog in positive COVID-19 test results created by temporary system slowdowns last week. Those slowdowns occurred as a result of upgrading servers. Read the full news release here.