State continues with weekly COVID case updates

||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH |||

Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,659,152 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on June 28. There have been 13,129 COVID-19 deaths in Washington.

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

June 29 COVID-19 response update media briefing. DOH Deputy Secretary Lacy Fehrenbach provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 response. She was joined by Michele Roberts, assistant secretary, DOH; Dr. Tao Kwan-Gett, chief science officer, DOH; Nate Weed, acting deputy secretary, DOH; and Andy Rose, deputy assistant secretary, DOH. View the briefing.

Updated DOH guidance documents:

• Commercial Maritime Settings Guidance: Includes clarifying information on test reporting and outbreak notifications. Additional information on test reporting requirements and processes (including reporting self tests) is on page 7. The new information on outbreak notification states that outbreak notification is not limited to cases among Washington residents; this information is at the bottom of page 6.
• COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement FAQ for Child Care, Early Learning, and Youth Development Providers: Includes minor technical changes, such updating the information on eligible age for vaccination and removing the timeline for vaccine order implementation, which is no longer relevant.
• Homeless Service Settings Guidance: Includes a recommendation to follow CDC guidance for homeless service providers and several DOH guidance documents that are applicable to individuals in homeless service settings. Operators should review both CDC and DOH guidance documents listed, such as guidance for businesses, mask recommendations, cases, and ventilation. Also includes outbreak notification guidance and additional resources that homeless service providers may find useful.
• Self Testing Guidance for the Public*: Describes ways self tests may be used, how to access self tests, and what you should do after a self test. Links to DOH guidance on what to do if you test positive and what to do if you test negative but were exposed to someone with COVID-19. Also recommends individuals notify their close contacts if they test positive, including information on how WA Notify may be used to do so. 
  *For the self-testing guidance for the public, there is another update currently in the works to address questions around reporting.

Reported COVID-19 reinfections in Washington state. This weekly report includes information on hospitalizations and deaths, demographics, trends over time, and vaccination status of people with a reinfection for which DOH has information about both infection events. Read the full June 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 June 29 report.

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 June 29 report in English and in Spanish.

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 June 29 report.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough surveillance and case information resource. This weekly report provides data and criteria on fully vaccinated people who test positive with SARS-CoV-2 and may or may not develop COVID-19 symptoms. Read the full June 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 June 28 report.