Recap of today’s COVID-19 updates and news

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Numbers. For the most recent tally of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health’s website.

Today’s dashboard update will be delayed. An issue with negative lab processing occurred, which caused a delay for DOH to be able to update the COVID-19 Data Dashboard. DOH staff are working this evening to ensure that the DOH dashboard is updated with this preliminary testing data in the next several hours. This issue also impacts the Risk Assessment Dashboard. 

King County approved to move to Phase 2 of Safe Start plan; Island, Lewis and Mason counties approved for Phase 3. Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved 4 counties to move to the next phase of the Safe Start plan today. King County moved from Phase 1.5 to Phase 2 and Island, Lewis, and Mason counties moved from Phase 2 to  Phase 3. For the latest information on county variance applications visit here. 

Department of Health releases new COVID-19 data tied to occupation and industry. Healthcare workers and people who provide healthcare support have the highest number of COVID-19 cases, according to a new report by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) program. The report details total COVID-19 cases, by occupation and industry, through May 27. The manufacturing industry has the second highest number of cases. It’s important to note that while the risk for contracting COVID-19 may be higher for people depending on their industry or occupation, this report reflects where people work, not where or how they were infected. The report will be regularly updated online.

Kreidler extends emergency order on telehealth coverage. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended his emergency order requiring health insurers to continue coverage for providing telehealth, cover all medically necessary diagnostic testing for flu and other viral respiratory illnesses, and treat drive up testing sites for COVID-19 as a provider visit. The emergency order is in effect until July 19.

Inslee extends 3 proclamations related to COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee announced the extension of 3 proclamations today in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The extensions were approved by the state Legislature. The extensions include waiving the statue that requires shared work benefits to be paid by employers, allowing CARES Act funding to be used to pay for the employer portion of shared work benefits. Two extensions are in effect until July 19 and one until July 1. More details available on the governor’s website.

Inslee announces additional guidance for weddings and funerals. Gov. Jay Inslee announced additional clarification for non-religious weddings and funerals in Phases 1, 2, and 3 of Washington’s Safe Start recovery plan.

New Institute for Disease Modeling COVID-19 situation report released. The latest statewide modeling report suggests COVID-19 transmission was still increasing in eastern Washington and may have been stabilizing in western Washington as of early June. Some of the counties previously identified as hot spots seem to be improving, though several counties still need interventions to limit exponential growth. We continue to see very different trends from county to county. Read the report.

Junteenth 2020: The odyssey continues. DOH employee U. James Chaney reflects on what Junteenth means and how we can make lasting change. Read the full blog post here.

Viruses don’t discriminate, but we do.In Washington state, 37% of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 are white. But 68% of our population is white. If the virus causing COVID-19 affected people equally regardless of race, we would think that 68% of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 would be white. So why does COVID-19 seem to be disproportionately avoiding white people? In a word, privilege. Read the full DOH blog post here.