Today’s COVID-19 news and updates

— from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray —

Newest numbers. The state of Washington reported 685 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of cases to 53,321 as of July 26 at 11:59 p.m. The total number of deaths are at 1,518.

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.

Governor’s office releases updated guidance about Safe Start changes. Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced several rollbacks to Safe Start reopening activities in an effort to prevent runaway spread of COVID-19 in Washington state.

Most changes go into effect on Thursday, July 30. The changes to wedding and funeral ceremonies, originally scheduled to go in effect August 6, are now scheduled to go in effect August 10. The governor’s office is preparing updated guidance for affected businesses. Updates for fitness activities are still under development. In the meantime:

• Updated guidance for restaurants/taverns is  here. 
• Updated guidance for card rooms is here. 
• The full proclamation regarding the extension of the eviction moratorium through October 15 is here. 

Communicating about COVID-19 – new partner toolkit materials available. Our public information and behavioral health teams continue to develop all kinds of materials that help us communicate about everything from face coverings to coping with stress. Materials are available in multiple languages. You can see the current collection of materials in our COVID-19 partner toolkit.

Reminder: There should be no cost to you as a patient for testing, whether you have insurance or not. The state Insurance Commissioner is requiring insurers to waive co-pays and deductibles for COVID-19 testing, and has answered frequently asked questions about health insurance and COVID-19.

You may be charged for tests or services for other conditions that may occur during the visit. If you visit the emergency room for COVID-19 testing, you may be charged a facility fee for the visit.

If you don’t have health insurance, visit the Washington Health Benefit Exchange to find out if you qualify for free health coverage (Apple Health, Washington’s Medicaid program) or if you qualify to purchase individual health insurance under specific circumstances. Find answers to frequently asked questions about getting coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about costs for COVID-19 testing (PDF) in Washington state.