Washington Reports 9 Deaths, 327 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

SEATTLE — Officials reported 9 more coronavirus-related deaths and 327 more confirmed cases of the disease Tuesday.

As of the latest report from the Washington state Department of Health, a total of 80,465 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in laboratories and 2,015 people have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Deaths Tuesday were reported in Chelan, Franklin, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Yakima counties.

The latest numbers represent part of an ongoing decline in new coronavirus cases and deaths in the evergreen state. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee held a press conference Tuesday in part to discuss the progress the state has made recently combating the pandemic.

"I am heartened to see Washingtonians all over the state in so many ways banding together to fight this terrible disease," Inslee said. "Washingtonians are masking up across the state. Washingtonians are limiting contact with people outside of their household. Washingtonians are practicing social distancing in so many parts of their lives, and for this I'm very, very appreciative."

The governor also took some time to mourn those lives that have been lost along the way.

"Yesterday our state inauspiciously passed the 2,000 deaths mark of folks we've lost because of COVID-19. We mourn every single one of those lives. Every single one of those lives are not just a number, they're a family that has suffered because of this pandemic," Inslee said.

Catch up on the latest updates:

Homeless shelter surveillance may better explain how virus spreads

UW Medicine says a recent study at 14 Seattle-area homeless shelters has given some insight into how the coronavirus is transmitted, and how officials can stop the virus from spreading in close quarter living situations like prisons, shelters, and refugee camps.

The study began back in November 2019 as a program to surveil the flu and flu treatments in Seattle homeless shelters, but switched to coronavirus testing when the pandemic began. All surveillance was conducted on willing participants who had agreed to take park in the study, and included homeless shelter residents from young babies all the way to adults aged 82.

Researchers watched and tested participating shelter residents and staff over a four-month period, and say they now have a better idea of how to prevent transmission in enclosed spaces. The biggest hurdle, researchers say, is the number of patients who don't show any symptoms.

"I think the important thing we learned is that people with coronavirus in homeless shelters are asymptomatic," said Dr. Helen Chu associate professor with the UW School of Medicine and the study's senior researcher. "That they can be carrying coronavirus potentially be part of the chain of transmission but not exhibit symptoms and that the best way to find cases of coronavirus is by sampling everybody – it’s not restricted to only people who have symptoms, but actually to test everybody in the entire shelter."

UW seeks volunteers for COVID-19 testing program

Meanwhile, UW has also announced another program— this one an attempt to protect their students and staff as they return to campus later this month.

It's called the Husky Coronavirus Testing program, and is run by the Seattle Flu Study, the same study that branched off to become the above homeless surveillance program.

For this program, UW is asking students, faculty and staff to receive multiple coronavirus tests when they return to the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses later this month. Everyone who will be on campus long-term is asked to take part, but the program is not mandatory.

90 percent of UW's classes will be held online for the fall semester, but the school says they still expect to catch several hundred COVID-19 cases through this testing program. The program was likely developed in part as a response to an outbreak this summer at UW fraternities.

Read more: UW Launches COVID-19 Testing Program For Students, Staff

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.