Report: COVID-19 activity declining in Washington with the help of face masks, social distancing

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Coronavirus activity in Washington state appears to be declining as of late August, according to the latest situation report released by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). 

The report released Friday shows the reproductive number, that’s how many new people each COVID-19 patient will infect, was estimated at 0.86 for western Washington on Aug. 17, which is down from the estimate of 0.97 in the state’s last report. In eastern Washington, the reproductive number was estimated at 0.91 on Aug. 14, down from the estimate of 0.98 in the last report. 

The goal is to get the reproductive number well below one across the state, experts said.

The DOH said they’re seeing decreases in case counts across all ages groups in both eastern and western Washington since the start of August.

One exception is in Whitman County, where health officials said there was a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases starting Aug. 19 due to an outbreak among off campus college students. 

“While we see some encouraging trends in case counts, the risk remains extremely high throughout the state,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “The situation in Whitman County illustrates just how quickly an outbreak can wipe out our progress toward keeping case counts low. It is still critical that we limit the size and frequency of our in-person gatherings, wear face coverings and stay home when we are sick.”

The report also said statewide mortality has been fairly stable for the past three weeks with an average of 10-15 deaths per day. However, experts said if we remain in this current pattern, Washington will experience about 1,250-1,875 additional deaths by the end of 2020. Add those to the number of deaths already reported and “this would likely make COVID-19 a top five cause of death in Washington this year,” according to the report.

As the fall flu season draws near, health officials are warning people to take extra precautions and not to let their guard down. Health officials still recommend wearing face coverings, social distancing, and limiting gatherings to small groups. They also recommend getting a flu shot. 

“People are interacting more safely than we were earlier in the pandemic, and it’s making a difference,” DOH officials said in a press release.