||| FROM ANNE PRESSON for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT |||
The Washington Department of Health has reported a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, including a new record number of cases tallied in a single day.
According to DOH, state officials confirmed 6,235 new cases on Dec. 24, surpassing the state’s previous single-day record number of cases, which was 5,526 cases on Dec. 7, 2020.
Dec. 24 also marked the first time Washington had reported more than 6,000 cases in a single day.
The surge mirrors similar trends across U.S. cities as the highly transmissible omicron variant has become dominant in the country and pushed daily counts past the peak of the earlier delta variant wave.
DOH also confirmed an additional 3,847 cases and 17 new deaths on Monday, bringing the state’s totals to 834,235 cases and 9,801 deaths, meaning that 1.2% of people diagnosed in Washington have died.
King County also reported its highest number of daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic on Monday. The county has seen a 195% increase in cases in the past seven days, averaging 1,586 infections per day, according to the county’s COVID-19 data dashboard.
While it’s unclear how many of those cases are directly due to the omicron variant, local health officials have been predicting that a surge could overwhelm the region’s health-care systems and disrupt businesses and schools.
FULL ARTICLE: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/washington-state-reports-record-number-of-coronavirus-infections-on-christmas-eve
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