Washington Surpasses 2,000 Coronavirus Deaths

SEATTLE — After not updating the death toll Saturday and Sunday, the Washington State Department of Health reported 15 new coronavirus deaths Monday, bringing the state death toll to 2,006 dead since the pandemic began in spring.

The latest report included new deaths in Clark, Grant, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, and Whatcom counties.

Monday's update also included 312 new reported cases of the disease, bringing the total to 80,138 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Washington. According to the CDC, the evergreen state has reported 2,591 coronavirus cases over the last seven days, a far cry from just months ago when new case counts could reach over a thousand in a single day.

A total of 1,653,967 coronavirus tests have been performed statewide, meaning about 4.8 percent of tests come back positive. That's also an improvement: the state is slowly but surely making its way towards the goal of having fewer than 2 percent of coronavirus cases come back positive.

Independent studies appear to confirm the DOH data showing that Washington state is on a path towards improvement. A recent report from the Bellevue-based Institute for Disease Modeling found that case counts may have plateaued and even begun to decline as early as mid-August. That same model, however, also predicts that somewhere between 3,000 and 3,600 Washingtonians will have died of the coronavirus by the end of the year.

That's a grim statistic, but state officials say it's also one that can be avoided if residents continue to take the virus seriously.

"We have already lost more than 2,000 Washingtonians to COVID-19. We do not have to lose 1,600 more people in the next several months," writes Lauren Jenks, Department of Health Assistant Secretary. "We can wear our cloth face coverings. We can keep our get-togethers very small and outdoors. We can stay six feet apart. We can save hundreds of lives."

Meanwhile, though case counts and positivity rates appear to be improving, the smoke is now presenting a considerable challenge for coronavirus treatment. Both Pierce and King counties announced Monday that they would be closing select COVID-19 testing sites due to the unhealthy air conditions.

Related: Smoke Warning: Air Quality Alert Extended For Western Washington

Health officials continue to urge anyone who has the coronavirus, or underlying health conditions that impact the heart or lungs, to be extra vigilant, as the lowered air quality can cause serious health complications.

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.