After Data Outage, DOH Reports 21 Deaths, 1,740 COVID-19 Cases

SEATTLE — After several days of data outages, the Washington State Department of Health reported 1,740 coronavirus cases and 21 deaths on Tuesday, representing the total number of cases and from Saturday through Monday night. The state also does not report deaths on Saturdays, so the death toll of 21 represents all deaths from Friday through midnight Monday.

Deaths during that time period were reported in Asotin, Clark, Franklin, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Spokane, Stevens, and Whatcom counties.

Ongoing issues caused the state to not report any updates starting Sunday. Officials say that, with this latest update, they believe they have fixed and double-checked all issues, and are now up to date.

With the latest report, a total of 94,775 coronavirus cases have been confirmed, and 2,211 Washingtonians have died since the pandemic began in spring. A total of 2,123,908 coronavirus tests have been performed in Washington this year. Over the last week, 3.5 percent of all coronavirus tests came back positive. The state's goal is to test widely enough that fewer than 2 percent of tests come back positive.

Five counties enter Phase 2

For the first time in three months, five counties will be moving ahead in the Safe Start Plan. However, they are likely to be the only ones to move ahead for the foreseeable future.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that five counties have been approved to move ahead to the next phase: Yakima, Benton, Douglas, Franklin, and Chelan counties.

"These counties and their people have made tremendous progress," Inslee said.

All five counties had been in a so-called "modified Phase 1" between Phases 1 and 2. They were the most restricted counties in Washington, left behind as all other counties moved to Phases 2 and 3 months ago. Many had suffered in part because of large outbreaks in the agricultural sector, but the governor says all have seen massive improvements in recent weeks, allowing them to safely move ahead.

With that movement, 22 of Washington's 39 counties are now in Phase 2. It will likely remain that way for some time: the general pause on movement remains, and no other counties are being considered to move ahead in the Safe Start plan for now.

Still, the governor and other state leaders to urge Washingtonians to continue following safety guidelines to prevent any further surges or outbreaks.

"This is no time to allow superspreader events," Inslee said. "It is no time to let our guard down, even in our homes. No time for large parties where people are not socially distancing, not wearing masks. No time to stop all the things we had been doing that have had such success to date."

Read more: Inslee Moves Phase 1.5 Counties Ahead, But Larger Pause Remains

Concerns over high case counts in larger counties

Despite overall improvements to Washington state's daily coronavirus case counts, some larger counties have recently been falling out of step.

Dr. Jeff Duchin, the top health offical for King County, hosted a news briefing Tuesday, outlining some concerns his office has noted over the past few weeks since Sept. 21.

"We expected it would be more challenging to manage COVID-19 during the fall and winter as we spend more time indoors and environmental conditions favor the spread of infection," Duchin said. "The trends we're seeing today should be a wake-up call for everyone. The longer we wait, the more difficult it gets to change the trajectory of an increasing outbreak. If we let it get away from us now, we may be in for a very dark time over the coming months."

King County, as the most populous Washington county, has traditionally seen the most coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, but recent counts have outpaced the population, and are creating growing unease in top health officials.

"Since the 21st of September, transmission and cases have been increasing in King County and regionally, as well as in many state across the country," Duchin said. "Last week, we had over 1,000 cases reported in King County, and we're having over 140 cases reported each day over the past week."

Similar concerns in Pierce County pushed health officials toissue a new advisory telling school districts that it was no longer safe to reopen for in-person education. While most King County schools have not announced plans to reopen classrooms, there are growing concerns that their case counts could lead to further problems.

To reverse course and get transmission rates down once again, health officials continue to warn residents: take this issue seriously and follow safety guidelines.

"COVID fatigue and easing up on necessary precautions are a recipe for failure," Duchin said. "Remember, getting through this outbreak will require long-term behavior changes in the ways we go about our lives and how we interact with one another."

Read more: Coronavirus Cases Continue To Rise In King County

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.