Coronavirus Deaths Surpass 500 In Washington; 10,411 Cases

SEATTLE, WA — Testing has confirmed another 187 cases of the new coronavirus in Washington and 17 more people have died from COVID-19, state health officials announced Sunday.

Washington has now confirmed 10,411 cases of COVID-19, including 508 deaths, since the outbreak began. Washington ranks 10th among states by number of confirmed deaths as of Sunday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Sunday's update represented a smaller number of new cases than the previous several days, including Saturday, when more than 300 new cases were announced. Health officials have voiced cautious optimism in recent days that social distancing measures may have "flattened the curve" of the virus in Washington state, although easing up on those measures could cause a drastic resurgence in cases.

Testing data by race and ethnicity, which state officials began publishing Saturday, appears to show that minority groups, including Black, Pacific Islander and Hispanic or Latino people, have been disproportionately infected by COVID-19, while white people make up a smaller part of the state's patients than their share of the overall population. But that data may be incomplete, state officials warned.

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What's Washington's coronavirus endgame?

Health authorities battling the coronavirus outbreak are trying to figure out how and when social distancing restrictions that have shut down many things across Washington state can be modified or ended.

"That's what a lot of us are working on now: What's the end game?" Dr. Elizabeth Halloran, an infectious-disease specialist and modeler at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center who advises the federal government on outbreaks, told the Associated Press.

Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, says what's needed to help fight the outbreak is new technology, including simple home tests and the use of cellphone location data to alert people who may have been exposed.

Some epidemiologists say it could even be necessary to impose intermittent lockdowns through the end of the year, to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

"People really do need to understand the sad truth here, related to the fact that we're not going to be able to stop this outbreak," said Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County. "We're trying to manage it, but people will continue to get sick. People will continue to get critically ill. People will continue to die."

Kirkland Life Care Center sued over deadly coronavirus outbreak

The daughter of a woman who died of a suspected coronavirus case at a Seattle-area nursing home connected to dozens of COVID-19 deaths is suing the company that owns the Life Care Center of Kirkland, the Associated Press reports.

The Life Care Center has seen more than 120 cases and at least 37 deaths, according to the wrongful death and fraud lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court.

KOMO reports that Deborah de los Angeles, the daughter of former resident Twilla June Morin, was told by phone that her mother had passed of suspected COVID-19 on March 4. According to the lawsuit, de los Angeles was never notified that there had been previous deaths at the facility from COVID-19.

The lawsuit also claims that the nursing home "engaged in fraud by concealing, suppressing and failing to disclose material facts."

Confirmed COVID-19 cases by county (from the Washington Department of Health*)

Total confirmed cases: 10,411 (508 deaths)

King: 4,422 cases (292 deaths)
Snohomish: 1,844 cases (70 deaths)
Unassigned: 619 cases**
Pierce: 898 cases (20 deaths)
Yakima: 538 cases (21 deaths)
Spokane: 260 cases (13 deaths)
Whatcom: 258 cases (23 deaths)
Benton: 250 cases (28 deaths)
Clark: 217 cases (14 deaths)
Skagit: 176 cases (6 deaths)
Island: 156 cases (7 deaths)
Kitsap: 129 cases (1 death)
Franklin: 120 cases (2 deaths)
Grant: 115 cases (2 deaths)
Thurston: 81 cases (1 death)
Chelan: 54 cases (5 deaths)
Adams: 37 cases
Jefferson: 28 cases
Cowlitz: 23 cases
Walla Walla: 21 cases
Mason: 19 cases
Douglas: 18 cases
Lewis: 17 cases (2 deaths)
Klickitat: 14 cases (1 death)
Okanogan: 14 cases
Kittitas: 13 cases
San Juan: 13 cases
Clallam: 12 cases
Grays Harbor: 11 cases
Whitman: 11 cases
Stevens: 7 cases
Asotin: 5 cases
Skamania: 3 cases
Lincoln: 2 cases
Wahkiakum: 2 cases
Columbia: 1 case
Ferry: 1 case
Pacific: 1 case
Pend Oreille: 1 case

*Some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.
**Health agencies are still working to determine the appropriate jurisdiction for cases marked "unassigned."