Key facts:
- People younger than 40 accounts for almost three-quarters of King County cases in past two weeks.
- TOTAL: 1,404 deaths among 42,304 overall cases in Washington state reported on Monday.
- 718,234 people in Washington have taken a test for coronavirus and 5.9% of those tests have been positive, according to the state Department of Health.
Tuesday, July 14:
Canada, US poised to extend border restrictions to Aug. 21
The U.S. and Canada are poised to extend their agreement to keep their shared border closed to non-essential travel to Aug. 21, but a final confirmation has not been given, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The agreement would likely extend the closure by another 30 days. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement this week, and spoke on condition of anonymity. The restrictions were announced on March 18 and were extended in April, May and June.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week that a decision on the border would be announced: “in the coming days.”
New York City reports zero COVID-19 deaths for first time in months
New York City has recorded zero deaths related to COVID-19 for the first time in nearly four months, according to health department data.
Zero deaths related to the disease caused by the new coronavirus were recorded on July 11, according to data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The last time that happened was March 13 -- a span of 120 days.
The city's health department said as of Monday afternoon it has 18,708 confirmed deaths following a positive COVID-19 laboratory test. There are another 4,615 probable deaths that have no positive laboratory test.
Monday, July 13:
3% of frontline UW Medicine workers tested have COVID-19 antibodies
About 3% of frontline UW Medicine workers showed prevalence for previous COVID-19 infection during a round of recent antibody tests.
UW Medicine says this prevalence rate is lower than the general public indicating there is not a significantly higher risk of coronavirus among frontline workers versus the general population.
The first round of antibody tests focused on staff at Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center, Airlift Northwest and UW neighborhood clinics who have direct exposure to COVID-19 patients. UW Medicine plans to administer a second round of antibody tests to workers in regular inpatient units and a third round of tests to other staff.
Inslee requests extension of National Guard mission
Citing the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter to the Trump administration today requesting an extension of federal authority and funding for Washington National Guard employment.
The letter reads, in part:
"As the number of positive COVID-19 cases continues to climb in our state, it is clear that help from the Washington National Guard remains essential through the end of the year ... Currently, more than 1,000 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are assisting with critical missions that keep our food banks operational and our neighbors fed. They are critical to our efforts to slow the spread of the virus by supporting COVID-mapping missions, assembling test kits, and operating community-based test sites. Additionally, uniquely skilled National Guard planners are assisting my COVID-19 food security team and other state agencies to ensure that we meet the health and welfare needs of Washingtonians through our phased re-opening plan."
Paid parking enforcement resumes in Seattle
On-street paid parking and parking enforcement resumed in Seattle on Monday.
Paid parking and limited parking enforcement were suspended in April in response to Gov. Jay Inslee's "Stay Home, Stay Health" order.
With King County's transition to Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan and more businesses reopening, "reliable access at the curb for customers is critical for recovery," SDOT posted.
Parking will be 50 cents per hour in all areas, the minimum rate allowed according to city code. That rate will remain for at least a month while SDOT reviews data related to parking activity and occupancy in business districts.
Enforcement of free, hourly parking will resume as well.
People younger than 40 accounts for almost three-quarters of King County cases in past two weeks
King County’s top public health official says COVID-19 isn’t going away soon, so people need to learn to make protecting each other’s health part of daily life. Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health - Seattle & King County, said Friday that people need to understand the long-term nature of COVID-19.
King County saw an average of 118 new cases per day during the week ending July 9. That’s nearly triple the daily average for the week ending June 9.
Duchin says people younger than 40 accounts for almost three-quarters of King County cases during the past two weeks.
New coronavirus cases, deaths reported
There were 1,438 new coronavirus cases and 14 new deaths reported Sunday in Washington.
These totals represent new cases and deaths for two days. The Washington State Department of Health did not report new cases Saturday as the system was down for maintenance.
There are now 40,656 total confirmed cases and 1,438 deaths statewide.
CORONAVIRUS: Your Money, Your Future