WA Health Officials Recall Monday's Coronavirus Update

SEATTLE — At first, officials with the Washington Department of Health confirmed 18 more deaths due to COVID-19 and 300 new infections of the coronavirus Monday afternoon, but hours later, they deleted that report, claiming it had been inaccurate.

It's unclear exactly how their latest report was inaccurate, but DOH leaders say they are trying to determine what went wrong and how best to fix the issue.

As a result, they've rolled back Monday's routine coronavirus update, meaning the death toll remains at 2,037, with 82,548 confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington state— the same data the state reported Sunday night.

DOH officials say they intend to release a regular coronavirus update Tuesday, which will presumably include the deaths and infections that would have been reported Monday. Because the state does not update the death toll over the weekends, Tuesday's report will include all coronavirus patient deaths from Friday to Monday.

Catch up on the latest developments:

Tracking how the economy is changing

Beyond all the deaths and illnesses, the coronavirus pandemic has also taken a major toll on employment and the economy. To help make sense of it all, and to better track how the economy is changing in as the pandemic unfolds, Monday the Washington State Department of Commerce unveiled a new Economic Recovery Dashboard, which will help experts and the public at large see and visualize how the economy is shifting.

The dashboard offers data at a county wide level: for example checking on King County shows that unemployment has risen about 5.3 percent since the pandemic began. Bad, but not as bad as Okanogan County where employment has dropped 26 percent.

The dashboard also provides data on business volume and retail sales, as well as enrollment in support programs and food banks. It will be updated monthly.

Find the Economic Recovery Dashboard here.

ESD begins processing Lost Wage Assistance

Eligible unemployment recipients may find themselves receiving as much as $1,800 extra sometime in the next few days. That's because Monday the Employment Security Department, or ESD, began processing the distribution of the Lost Wages Assistance Program.

The LWA is a federal program which provides unemployment recipients who lost their job or wages due to the pandemic with an additional $300 for each week they were unemployed between the week ending August 1 and the week ending September 5.

Unemployment recipients who already receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance were automatically enrolled in the program and should see their extra funds come in some time over the next few days as the ESD processes the payments. For those who have not, it may still be possible to receive the extra funds, but the ESD says money is limited, so applicants should contact them sooner rather than later.

Read more: WA Unemployment Applicants To Receive $300 Lost Wage Payments

Coronavirus may be among top causes of death for Pierce County

The coronavirus may be one of the top causes of death for Pierce County this year, and at points appears to have been the number three killer of county residents.

Epidemiologist Ingrid Friberg explains in a blog post on Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department's website:

"For the months of April and August, we expect COVID-19 to be the third most common cause of death in our county, compared to data through 2018. More recent data are not available yet. COVID-19 appears to be responsible for more deaths than strokes, Alzheimer’s, accidents, diabetes, or suicides."

Friberg does note that the county will need to wait until the end of the year until they know for certain exactly how the coronavirus ranked.

In the meantime, to prevent any more deaths or resurgences of the virus, experts ask that everyone continue to follow safety guidelines, limiting close contact with those outside your household, wearing a mask, and maintaining a safe social distance of six feet when in public.

Read more: Pierce County: COVID-19 Appears To Be 'Among Top Causes Of Death'