Statewide recap of recent COVID-19 news, updates

||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH |||

Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 380,109 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on May 5. There have been 5,553 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 Roadmap to Recovery Metrics dashboard. 

May 5 COVID-19 media briefing. Washington State Secretary of Health Umair Shah provided an update on the state’s COVID-19 response. He was joined by Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary of health; Michele Roberts, acting assistant secretary; Scott Lindquist, acting state health officer; Dan Laster, Vaccine Command and Coordination System (VACCS) director; and Michele P. Andrasik, HIV Vaccine Trials Network & COVID-19 Prevention Network’s Director of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Community Engagement. View the briefing here.

COVID-19 vaccine distribution update. As of May 3, more than 5,642,156 doses of vaccine have been given across the state, which is nearly 81 percent of the 6,967,540 doses that have been delivered to our providers and federal partnership programs. More than 39 percent of people in Washington eligible for vaccination are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Read the full news release here.

Private partners increase vaccine access by providing free and discounted rides to vaccine appointments. The Vaccine Action Command and Coordination System (VACCS) Center has partnered with Lyft, Uber, United Way Worldwide, Washington 211, and Sea Mar Community Health Centers to provide access to free and discounted rides to vaccine appointments for people with transportation challenges. Read the full news release here.

Updated Spanish-language guidance from DOH. Child Care, Youth Development, and Day Camps During COVID-19 is available in Spanish and reflects all guidance updates for these areas as of April 14.

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 May 5 report here.

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 May 5 report here. 

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 May 5 report here.

COVID-19 long-term care report. As of May 3, a total of 20,188 COVID-19 cases and 2,658 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 May 4 report here.