Recap of today’s COVID-19 news and updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported 659 new cases in the past day for a total of 65,339 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on August 12. There have been 1,736 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.

Inslee press conference today included discussion of longer-term health impacts of COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee held a press conference today. He invited Dr. Kathy Lofy from DOH and Dr. Francis Riedo of Evergreen Health in Kirkland to provide an overview of some of the emerging findings about the longer-term impacts of COVID-19. Dr. Riedo said the sustained effects of COVID-19, including fatigue or loss of taste and smell, make it very different from a common flu when people often feel fully recovered in a relatively short amount of time. Researchers are still learning about the lasting effects.

The briefing is available on TVW.

State Health Care Authority encourages individuals to see if they are eligible for low-cost coverage. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, more than 100,000 Washington residents have enrolled in Apple Health (Medicaid), Washington state’s insurance program for individuals with lower incomes. About 1.9 million Washington residents are now enrolled in the program, which offers comprehensive physical and behavioral health care coverage.

“Apple Health is meant to be there when people need health care the most,” said HCA State Medicaid Director MaryAnne Lindeblad. “Due to the pandemic, many people are experiencing loss of income that may make them eligible for this program. We encourage those seeking free or low-cost health care coverage to visit our website to learn more.”

The state Office of Financial Management estimates that due to the pandemic, the uninsured rate in our state rose from 6.7 percent in January 2020 to 13 percent in the spring, and was at about 8.8 percent on July 25.

Read HCA’s release here. It includes links to learn more about Apple Health eligibility and apply.

Food security update. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) distributed 1.4 million pounds of food to more than 192,000 Washingtonians this week. In addition, more than 61,000 pre-packed boxes and 9,000 cases of assorted dry food were distributed through the Washington emergency food initiative. The emergency food reserve established by WSDA now has more than 1,300 pallets of food and supplies on hand. Distributions to hunger-relief partners begin this month.

Meanwhile, more than 550 Members of the Washington National Guard supported foodbanks across the state, boxing nearly 1.6 million pounds of food and assembling 2,255 meals.

The economic impacts of COVID-19 has doubled the number of people turning to food banks and food assistance programs for help. The Seattle Times profiled the agency’s efforts to “draw a completely new road map for getting food to people who need it.” You can read the full story here.

Why am I coughing? What to do if you have COVID-19 symptoms. Out of nowhere, you have a cough. Or a headache. You’re wondering if you might be feverish. You start sniffing things and can’t really tell if your sense of smell is normal. You googled your symptoms, you’ve used the CDC symptom checker, and you’re still wondering if this might be COVID-19. Now what? DOH’s newest blog post explains when and how to get tested and keep others safe while you wait for results.