Recap of recent state Health Department COVID-19 news and updates

||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH |||

Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 747,702 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 29. There have been 9,853 COVID-19 deaths in Washington.

NOTE: DOH will not update the data dashboard on Friday, Dec. 31, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday. We will include data from Friday in Monday’s dashboard update (Jan. 3).

For the most recent number of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health’s dashboard.

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19. Tracking cases and preventing further spread of disease starts with testing; anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or known exposures should get tested, regardless of vaccination status or prior infection. Read the full news release.

COVID-19 cases spike significantly in the past week. Epidemiologists with DOH expect COVID-19 transmission to rise in the coming weeks and agree omicron is mostly likely the dominant strain. Read the full news release.

Kittitas County osteopathic physician’s license restricted for allegedly signing vaccine exemption waivers without medical justification. Kittitas County osteopathic physician and surgeon Anna Elperin cannot issue COVID-19 vaccine waivers until charges are resolved. Read the full news release.

COVID-19 cases among children and youth in Washington. This weekly report provides information on COVID-19 in all children and youth, ages 0 to 19 years. Cases are broken down by educational service district (ESD) regions and age. Read the full Dec. 29 report.

Case investigation and contact tracing metrics for DOH centralized investigations. This weekly report shows the timeliness of reaching COVID-19 confirmed and probable cases and their contacts for case investigations and contact tracing activities. Read the full Dec. 29 report.

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality by race, ethnicity, and spoken language in Washington state. This bimonthly report provides an overview of confirmed or probable COVID-19 case, hospitalization, and death rates by race and ethnicity at state and regional levels. It also provides counts and percentages of confirmed or probable cases and hospitalizations by primary language spoken. Read the full Dec. 29 report. 

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths by vaccination status. This weekly report provides a brief overview of confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths among those who are not fully vaccinated in Washington state. Read the full Dec. 29 report.

DOH SARS-CoV-2 sequencing and variants report. This weekly report summarizes genome sequencing coverage of Washington SARS-CoV-2 specimens from multiple laboratories from across the United States and our state. It provides a statewide view of sequencing capacity and data, including breakouts by county and demographics. Read the full Dec. 29 report.

COVID-19 long-term care report. As of Dec. 27, a total of 27,347 COVID-19 cases and 3,247 deaths have been identified as associated or likely associated with a long-term care facility (such as nursing home, assisted living facility, or adult family home). These cases include residents as well as employees and visitors. Read the full Dec. 28 report.