By Rolf Boone
The Olympian
The number of people in Washington state who have died from COVID-19, or coronavirus, increased to 18 on Sunday, according to updated data released by the state Department of Health.
Seventeen of those deaths have been reported in King County, plus one in Snohomish County. The total number of confirmed cases stands at 136, while those who have tested negative for the virus stands at 1,110, the data show.
About 2 p.m. Sunday, the state announced that the number of confirmed cases was 123. In the hours since, that total has grown to 136, with the additional cases not assigned to a particular county, according to the state data.
The number of counties that now have cases has grown to seven, with a new case reported in Kittitas County. Spokane County previously was identified as having a confirmed case, but not now. Pierce County has four confirmed cases.
On Saturday, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said two people, both Tacoma residents, tested positive for COVID-19.
One is a woman in her 30s who was discharged from Good Samaritan Hospital and is recovering at home as of Saturday. The other patient, a man in his 40s, tested positive Saturday at Tacoma General Hospital.
The first case of coronavirus in Pierce County was announced Friday, the patient a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions. He is at St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor receiving treatment.
On Sunday, the department added a Lakewood woman in her 30s.
The two King County deaths reported Sunday by public health officials: A woman in her 80s, who used to be a Life Care Center of Kirkland resident, but who later died March 6 at EvergreenHealth, also in Kirkland. A man in his 90s, also a former Life Care Center resident, who died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on March 5.
Number of cases and deaths by county, according to the state Department of Health:
• King County: 83 cases, 17 deaths.
• Snohomish County: 31 cases, 1.
• Pierce County: 4 cases.
• Grant, Jefferson, Clark, Kittitas: 1 case reported in each county.
• Unassigned: 14
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and shortness of breath, which may occur two days to two weeks after exposure.The disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
