Recapping today’s COVID-19 news and updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Newest numbers. The state of Washington reported 865 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of cases to 50,824 as of July 23 at 11:59 p.m. The state’s rolling average number of cases has been well over 600 during most of July, compared to about 250 at the end of April. The total number of deaths are at 1,495.

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.

New CDC report emphasizes COVID-19 can cause prolonged illness, including in younger people. The CDC today released the findings of a telephone survey that indicates more than one-third of people diagnosed with COVID-19 but did not have to be hospitalized had not returned to their usual state of health within 2-3 weeks of being tested. Among those between the age of 18-34 with no chronic medical conditions, one in five had not returned to their usual state of health. The CDC’s takeaway message? “Recovery from COVID-19 can take a long time, even in young adults.” Read the report here.

Washington National Guard completes mission to connect Washingtonians to unemployment benefits. On July 23, soldiers and airmen with the Washington National Guard completed their mission supporting the Employment Security Department. The Guard was able to process more than 130,000 documents and provide verification for more than 12,000 claimants with payments. That meant thousands of more people were able to get their unemployment payments.

“Every case the National Guard has touched in the backlog has led to a claimant being paid out to those in need. They were finding every fake claimant and shutting down those bad actors,” said Phil Castle, director of enterprise project management at the Employment Security Department. 

Read the story here.

We did it before; we can do it again. Remember how we flattened the curve? This is a critical time when we all need to work together to prevent runaway growth in the number of people with COVID-19. The sooner we can get control of this virus again, the sooner we can open our communities, our businesses, and our schools. The most important thing you can do is reduce the amount of time you are around people outside your household. Read the full blog post from DOH here.

Resources

Washington 211 COVID-19 call center is a general information line related to COVID-19. If you need information or have a general question, call 1-800-525-0127 or text 211-211 for help. You can also text the word “Coronavirus” to 211-211 to receive information and updates on your phone wherever you are. You will receive links to the latest information on COVID-19, including county-level updates, and resources for families, businesses, students, and more.

Washington Listens helps people manage stress and anxiety they may be experiencing because of COVID-19. If you or anyone you know is having difficulties managing stress, call the Washington Listens support line at 1-833-681-0211. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. TTY and language access services are available by using 7-1-1 or their preferred method. Resources and self-help tips are available on walistens.org.

Want to help? Join the Washington Mask Challenge. The Lt. Governor’s office has partnered with the United Ways of the Pacific Northwest and Serve Washington to organize a statewide homemade mask-making initiative to encourage the general public to make, wear, and donate cloth masks. Visit www.wamaskchallenge.org for information.