Find developments on Washington’s coronavirus outbreak and the state’s plan for recovery.
Key facts:
- Ten of Washington’s 39 counties are in Phase 3 of reopening.
- 10 new deaths among 392 new cases reported Friday in Washington.
- TOTAL: 1,204 deaths among 25,171 overall cases in Washington state.
- 439,862 people in Washington have taken a test for coronavirus and 5.7% of those tests have been positive, according to the state Department of Health.
Friday, June 12:
Grays Harbor applies for Phase 3 of reopening
Health officials in Grays Harbor submitted an application Friday to apply for Phase 3 of Gov. Inslee’s ‘Safe Start’ plan to reopen Washington.
Ten of Washington’s 39 counties have already entered Phase 3.
In Phase 3, group sizes can expand to 50 people or fewer. Non-essential travel may resume. Restaurants could increase capacity to 75% capacity and bars can open to 25%. Gyms, recreational facilities, like pools, and movie theaters could reopen at 50% capacity. Libraries, museums, and government buildings could also reopen.
New Washington cases on Friday June 12
- 10 new deaths among 392 new cases reported Friday in Washington.
- TOTAL: 1,204 deaths among 25,171 overall cases in Washington state.
- 439,862 people in Washington have taken a test for coronavirus and 5.7% of those tests have been positive, according to the state Department of Health.
Gyms that defied stay home order resolve cases with state, agree to abide by the order
Northwest Fitness of Puyallup and Power Alley Fitness of Arlington have resolved their lawsuits filed against them by Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s after they opened their gyms despite the state’s stay home order, Ferguson’s office announced Friday.
The two gyms signed legally binding agreements to only operate their gyms in full compliance with the governor’s proclamations, according to the announcement.
The agreement for Northwest Fitness can be found here. The agreement for Power Alley Fitness can be found here.
When he opened, PA Fitness owner Michael Jellison told KING 5 that gyms should be considered an “essential service.”
“Health, fitness, mental health is important. It’s essential,” said Jellison. “Regardless of what anybody says, it’s essential. The president of the United States stated that it was essential in one of his briefings, Phase 1. We were disregarded in the state, even though we have one of four states in the United States that have the ability to open.”
Poll: Americans maintain virus precautions as states reopen
Most Americans say they are wearing masks. They are still by and large avoiding restaurants. And the vast majority are still staying at least six feet from others. A new poll finds most Americans aren’t ready to abandon precautionary measures in response to the coronavirus, even as states and metropolitan areas relax restrictions.
The findings come from the third COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation. The survey finds 90% of Americans report wearing a mask, and most are postponing social activities, avoiding crowds and avoiding contact with high-risk people.
But Americans weren’t as committed to the idea of using an app or website to help identify or track infections. Public health officials say it’s important to remain vigilant.
Health officials ask protesters to wear masks
Public Health – Seattle & King County is asking protesters to wear a masks that fully covers their nose, mouth, and chin to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The county says people older than 60 and anyone with an underlying health condition should consider avoiding protests and take action in other ways.
Though healthcare workers have warned against large gatherings due to the potential spread of coronavirus. Even though many protesters wear face masks, maintaining a six-foot “social distance” in a crowd is impossible at times.
Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, the Public Health officer for Seattle King County Public Health, responded to KING 5 questions via email about the spread and protests. He said, in part, “It is not possible to predict precisely what the risk would be at a protest march where the participants don’t resemble the underlying population or necessarily come from King County.”
Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, are considered to be particularly vulnerable to the pandemic’s economic shockwaves with lockdowns severely curtailing activity.
“The pandemic is fast becoming an economic crisis for developing countries,” said Andy Sumner, a professor of international development at King’s College London and one of the report’s co-authors.
Because millions of people live just above the poverty line, they are in a precarious position as the economic shock of the pandemic plays out. In a worst case scenario, the number of people in extreme poverty – defined as earning under $1.90 a day – is forecast to rise from about 700 million to 1.1 billion, according to the report, which was published by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research.
Global poverty surging
Global poverty is set to rise above 1 billion people once again as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which is reducing the income of the world’s poorest by $500 million a day, according to new research published Friday.
The research by King’s College London and the Australian National University points to poverty increasing dramatically in middle-income developing countries, where millions of people live just above the poverty line.
New model predicts powerful second wave of COVID-19 in September
Experts at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington are predicting a powerful second wave of the coronavirus that could lead to tens of thousands of new deaths from COVID-19.
The IHME predicts the second wave will start September 15.
The predictions estimate nationwide deaths will reach 169,890 by October 1, which is an increase of about 60,000 from today. The prediction has a possible range between 133,201 and 290,222 deaths.
“Deaths nationwide are predicted to remain fairly level through August and begin to rise again in the fourth week of August with a more pronounced increase during September, although some states will see the increase earlier due to increased mobility and relaxation of social distancing mandates,” according to a release from IHME.
In Washington state, experts predict about 1,400 total deaths, which is about 300 more than the state has right now.
Thursday, June 11:
The latest coronavirus numbers in Washington state
The Washington Department of Health reported 4 new deaths among 137 new cases Thursday in Washington. It brings to the total to 1,194 deaths among 24,779 overall cases statewide.
A total of 425,212 people in Washington have taken a test for coronavirus and 5.8% of those tests have been positive, according to the state Department of Health.
Initial claims for unemployment benefits continue to drop
During the week of May 31 to June 6, the number of initial regular unemployment claims dropped by 4.8% when compared to the previous week.
There were 29,713 initial claims, and 729,053 total claims for all benefit categories, a decrease of 45,906 from the previous week, according to the state Employment Security Department (ESD).
The ESD believes the continued decline is due to a variety of reasons, including fraud prevention and more people going back to work as counties reopen some industry sectors.
ESD said over $545.3 million was paid out for 420,772 individual claims.
1.5 million more laid-off workers seek unemployment benefits
About 1.5 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, evidence that many Americans are still losing their jobs even as the economy appears to be slowly recovering with more businesses partially reopening.
The latest figure from the Labor Department marked the 10th straight weekly decline in applications for jobless aid since they peaked in mid-March when the coronavirus hit hard. Still, the pace of layoffs remains historically high.
The total number of people who are receiving unemployment aid fell slightly, a sign that some people who were laid off when restaurants, retail chains, and small businesses suddenly shut down have been recalled to work.
Three counties move into next phases of ‘Safe Start Washington’ reopening plan
Chelan and Douglas counties are approved to move into a modified version of Phase 1 and Asotin County is approved to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, according to the state Department of Health.
A total of three counties are in Phase 1, three counties are in a modified version of Phase 1, 24 counties are in Phase 2 and nine counties are in Phase 3.
Benton and Franklin counties have applied to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2, and Skamania County has applied to move from Phase 2 to 3. These applications are currently under review by the department.
US expands virus testing of detained migrants amid criticism
U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement said it’s expanding coronavirus testing at detention facilities. The move follows weeks of criticism that the agency’s response to the outbreak has been inadequate.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Wednesday that it now offers voluntary COVID-19 tests to people held at detention facilities in Tacoma, Washington, and Aurora, Colorado.
It has tested 80% of the 570 people held at the Washington facility and one person tested positive.
Members of Congress and immigrant advocates have criticized the agency for insufficient measures to test and control the virus among detainees. The agency reports 788 active cases among the nearly 25,000 people it has in custody in about 200 facilities.
