Heath officials in Washington state – the initial epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak – say they are possibly starting to see the effects of its strict social distancing and self isolation measures.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington was just over 5,100 as of Monday while the death toll reached 219.
It was an increase of 15 new deaths and 292 new infections from the previous day.
Health officials in King County, which includes the city of Seattle, said on Monday there were now 2,330 cases and 150 deaths in that area.
It showed an increase of 171 cases and nine deaths from the day before.
Deaths there are now not increasing as much as they are in other US states despite the fact that Washington was the epicenter of the country’s outbreak just three weeks ago.
In comparison, New York is now the pandemic epicenter with more than 75,000 cases and 1,550 deaths as of Tuesday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington was just over 5,100 as of Monday while the death toll reached 219
Washington recorded the first known coronavirus case in the US and also the first few deaths of the pandemic before it started spreading rapidly across the country.
At one point, Washington had recorded 37 of the country’s first 50 fatal outbreaks.
The number of statewide cases surged following an outbreak at the Life Care Center nursing home facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland.
The state recorded its first known coronavirus case – and the first in the US – on January 21 after a patient returned from Wuhan, China where the global outbreak initially started.
Washington’s first deaths were then reported on February 29 after two people – one who was a resident at the nursing home – died in the same Seattle hospital.
Following the outbreak, the state enforced strict social distancing measures by banning large gatherings in late February and closing schools in early March.
Non-essential workplaces also shut down and the majority of residents started self-isolating as they stayed at home.
King County health director Jeff Duchin said they were now seeing a positive effect from the introduced measures but the number of deaths and cases continued to increase.
‘We are seeing a positive effect from the social distancing and other measures we’ve put in place, although significant numbers of cases and deaths continue to occur,’ Duchin said.
‘The threat of a rebound that could overwhelm the healthcare system remains and will remain for the foreseeable future if we let up too soon.’
In New York on Tuesday, infections increased by 9,298 to 75,795 and deaths had risen by 332 to 1,550.
New York’s stay-at-home order, which included the closure of all non-essential businesses, was enforced on March 22 – about three weeks after Washington put its order in place.
The number of cases in Washington state surged following an outbreak at the nursing home facility in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland (above)
A patient at the Life Care Center in Kirkland interacts with her relatives through the window after strict social distancing measures were implemented following the outbreak there
A nurse tests patients at a drive-through coronavirus testing station for University of Washington Medicine patients on March 17
A new statistical study has found that the measures introduced in Washington state appeared to have slowed the rate at which coronavirus spread from person-to-person over three weeks in the Seattle area.
The Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) used government-compiled heath data, including positive and negative tests and overall mortality, and anonymized Facebook location data to calculate the impact of the lockdown.
The study found that the data appeared to show that the pandemic has slowed in Washington state since the measures were introduced.
The disease’s reproductive number – the amount of people a single patient will infect on average – dropped by nearly half, from 2.7 at the end of February to 1.4 by March 18, it calculated.
The reproductive number must fall below one for the pandemic to decline, according to the study.
Facebook location data indicated ‘a persistent decline in mobility’ and ‘strong evidence that people have been staying at home’ over the period, the report found.
It showed an average 27 percent increase in the occupancy of residential areas, and a 43 percent decline in areas with offices such as central Seattle.
The state’s stay-at-home order was ‘timely and necessary’ but must be maintained, and ‘more progress is necessary,’ the report said, noting that the models drew on a small amount of data and contain considerable uncertainty.
