7,984 Coronavirus Cases Confirmed In Washington; 338 Dead

SEATTLE, WA — Testing has confirmed another 393 cases of the new coronavirus across Washington, and 28 more people have died after contracting the virus, state health officials announced Sunday.

Washington now has 7,984 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 338 deaths. The state ranks 10th in the United States by number of confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Among the new deaths announced Sunday was in Tacoma, where a woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions became the city's first recorded death. Washington's third-largest city had reported more than 200 cases but no deaths before Sunday.

Boeing suspends all Puget Sound production indefinitely

Boeing on Sunday announced it was extending its suspension of production at all Puget Sound and Moses Lake-area sites "until further notice."

The company said the suspension, first announced March 23, is being extended in order to avoid spreading COVID-19 among Boeing employees. Of the company's 70,000 employees statewide, 30,000 are affected by the suspension, the Seattle Times reported.

The coronavirus crisis has taken a severe financial toll on Boeing's finances, which were already suffering from the grounding of the 737 MAX due to safety concerns following multiple fatal accidents.

Washington will send ventilators to states with worse outbreaks

Washington state will return more than 400 ventilators it received from the federal government in an effort to help other states deal with more severe outbreaks of the new coronavirus, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Sunday.

Washington received 500 ventilators last month from the Strategic National Stockpile after requesting 1,000, the Seattle Times reported. They will go to New York and other states where COVID-19 cases have rapidly spiked, according to Inslee.

These ventilators are not meant to treat COVID-19 patients, but can be used to treat other patients, allowing hospitals to reserve their higher-pressure ventilators for those with COVID-19, according to the Times.

"I've said many times over the last few weeks, we are in this together," Inslee said in a statement. "This should guide all of our actions at an individual and state level in the coming days and weeks."

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State lacks data on coronavirus testing among health workers

Experts and health officials who are trying to plan a response to the coronavirus outbreak are missing a critical piece of information — the number of health care workers who have tested positive for the disease.

Washington state faced the first major outbreak of COVID-19 in the nation, but health officials have not kept track of how many doctors and nurses have the disease, the Associated Press reports.

Ruth Schubert, spokeswoman for the Washington Nurses Association, said that data is needed for COVID-19.

"We are urging the (Department of Health) and the emergency operations team at the state level to begin collecting and reporting this information," she said.

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

Total confirmed cases: 7,984 (338 deaths)

King: 3,158 cases (208 deaths)
Snohomish: 1,486 cases (47 deaths)
Unassigned: 1,018 cases**
Pierce: 536 cases (10 deaths)
Yakima: 316 cases (12 deaths)
Spokane: 199 cases (10 deaths)
Benton: 166 cases (13 deaths)
Skagit: 159 cases (4 deaths)
Clark: 145 cases (8 deaths)
Whatcom: 142 cases (15 deaths)
Island: 132 cases (3 deaths)
Kitsap: 102 cases
Grant: 82 cases (2 deaths)
Thurston: 62 cases (1 death)
Franklin: 59 cases (2 deaths)
Chelan: 28 cases (2 deaths)
Adams: 26 cases
Jefferson: 22 cases
Cowlitz: 17 cases
Lewis: 16 cases
Mason: 14 cases
Walla Walla: 12 cases
Whitman: 11 cases
Kittitas: 11 cases
Douglas: 10 cases
Okanogan: 9 cases
San Juan: 9 cases
Klickitat: 8 cases (1 death)
Clallam: 8 cases
Grays Harbor: 6 cases
Stevens: 5 cases
Asotin: 3 cases
Wahkiakum: 2 cases
Columbia: 1 case
Ferry: 1 case
Lincoln: 1 case
Pend Oreille: 1 case
Skamania: 1 case

Total tests: 91,375
Percent positive: 8.7%

*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."

This article originally appeared on the Seattle Patch