Stoked by the virulent delta variant and continued vaccine hesitancy, cases of COVID-19 are spiking once again. Although cases, hospitalizations and deaths are still well below the pandemic’s peak, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Sunday that he’s considering recommending that everyone — vaccinated or not — return to wearing masks.
We’re updating this page with the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Seattle area, the U.S. and the world. Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington and the world.
State health officials confirm 846 new coronavirus cases
The state Department of Health (DOH) reported 846 new coronavirus cases and 11 new deaths on Monday.
The update brings the state’s totals to 469,308 cases and 6,089 deaths, meaning that 1.3% of people diagnosed in Washington have died, according to the DOH. The data is as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Tallies may be higher earlier in the week because new state data isn’t reported on Sundays and COVID-related deaths aren’t reported on the weekends.
In addition, 26,498 people have been hospitalized in the state due to the virus — 140 new hospitalizations. In King County, the state’s most populous, state health officials have confirmed a total of 116,154 COVID-19 diagnoses and 1,678 deaths.
Since vaccinations began in mid-December, the state and health care providers have administered 8,105,754 doses and 52.3% of Washingtonians have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to vaccination data, which the state updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Providers are currently giving an average of about 9,292 vaccine shots per day.
The DOH says its daily case reports may also include duplicate test results, results assigned to the wrong county, results that are reported for today but are actually from a previous day, occasional false positive tests and other data discrepancies. Because of this, the previous day’s total number of cases plus the number of new daily cases does not add up to the new day’s total number of cases. State health officials recommend reviewing the dashboard’s epidemiologic curves tab for the most accurate representation of the state’s COVID-19 spread.
Moderna expanding kids vaccine study to better assess safety
Moderna said Monday it plans to expand the size of its COVID-19 vaccine study in younger children to better detect rare side effects, such as a type of heart inflammation recently flagged by U.S. health authorities.
The company said it is in talks with the Food and Drug Administration to enroll more study participants under age 12. It had intended to test the vaccine in about 7,000 children, with some as young as 6 months. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said via email it hasn’t decided on how many kids might be added.
The announcement comes as U.S. COVID-19 cases are rising and schools prepare to welcome students back to classrooms. At the same time, regulators continue to review cases of a rare type of heart inflammation called myocarditis that has been reported in a small number of teenagers who got the Moderna or Pfizer shots.
Pfizer said on Monday that if it makes changes to its vaccine testing in children, it will provide an update then. The New York-based company is testing its vaccine in up to 4,500 children in the United States and Europe.
Public health officials in Snohomish, other Western Washington counties urge mask use indoors as COVID cases rise
Rising cases of COVID-19 coupled with the emergence of the highly infectious delta variant have prompted health officers from eight Western Washington counties to recommend mask-wearing in indoor public spaces.
Health officials from the counties, which include Snohomish, King and Pierce, recommend all people, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks when in indoor public places. King County’s health officer, Dr. Jeff Duchin, first issued the this guidance Friday, but now officials in Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, Clallam, San Juan, Grays Harbor and Jefferson counties have done the same.
The joint statement from the counties said they have come together on the issue of indoor masking to better protect “our communities.”
“This step will help reduce the risk of COVID-19 to the public, including customers and workers, help stem the increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in many parts of the state and decrease the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant,” the joint statement said.
State health officials have discussed masking in public indoor spaces but aren’t making the same recommendation. The state’s epidemiologist, Dr. Scott Lindquist, said state officials support local jurisdictions doing more.
Biden says long-term effects of COVID-19 can be considered a disability under federal civil-rights laws
President Joe Biden said Monday that long-term symptoms of COVID-19 could be considered a disability under federal civil-rights laws, an announcement timed to coincide with the 31st anniversary of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act.
Many Americans seemingly recovered from the virus still face lingering challenges like breathing problems, brain fog, chronic pain and fatigue, Biden said during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House, where he signed a proclamation commemorating the 1990 law that passed with bipartisan support.
“These conditions can sometimes rise to the level of a disability,” Biden said. “So we’re bringing agencies together to make sure Americans with long covid, who have a disability, have access to the rights and resources that are due under the disability law, which includes accommodations and services.”
Earlier Monday, the Biden administration released guidance stating that what is known as “long covid” could be considered a disability under various federal civil rights laws that would afford protections against discrimination in employment, housing and other areas.
California to require proof of vaccination for state workers
California will require state employees and all health care workers to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or get tested weekly as officials aim to slow rising coronavirus infections, mostly among the unvaccinated.
The new rule will take effect next month, officials announced Monday. There are at least 238,000 state employees, according to the California controller’s office. Health officials couldn’t immediately provide an estimate on size of the health care workforce in the nation’s most populated state.
Louisiana Rep. Higgins says he, wife, son have coronavirus
Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, a critic of mask mandates and public health restrictions during the pandemic, said he, his wife and son have contracted the coronavirus.
He made the announcement on Facebook Sunday night. He said he and his wife had been infected last year, but this time around is much more difficult. He has not said whether he has been vaccinated.
“This episode is far more challenging. It has required all my devoted energy,” he said. “We are all under excellent care, and our prognosis is positive.”
Higgins is the second member of Congress to announce in the last week that they’d contracted the virus. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican who represents parts of southwest Florida, said July 19 that he had tested positive. Buchanan said he had been fully vaccinated and was experiencing mild symptoms.
Researchers link ‘heavy wildfire smoke’ in Reno to increased risk of contracting COVID-19
Cases of COVID-19 rose sharply last year in Reno, Nevada, when heavy layer of wildfire smoke settled over the city, according to scientists at the Desert Research Institute, and they and other scientists are postulating that there is a link between air pollution and increased susceptibility to the new coronavirus.
“Our results showed a substantial increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate in Reno during a time when we were affected by heavy wildfire smoke from California wildfires,” said Daniel Kiser, a co-lead author of the study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. “This is important to be aware of as we are already confronting heavy wildfire smoke … with COVID-19 cases again rising in Nevada and other parts of the western U.S.”
Kiser, an assistant research scientist of data science at the institute, said he became interested in studying the effect of the microscopic particulate matter from wildfires after reading a Canadian scientist’s article on the dual effect of confronting both issues at the same time.
Work-from-home benefits could stir up new battles between workers and their bosses
Millions of Americans have gotten a taste of working from home during the pandemic, and, boy, have they liked it.
Almost two-thirds of U.S. workers in a McKinsey survey at the start of the year said they wanted to work from home at least three days a week when the pandemic was over.
But battles are coming. People tend to think the fights will be over whether employers will allow remote work in the future. But a more vexing struggle may be over whether employers take most or all of these newfound benefits for themselves — not by prohibiting remote work but by expecting more hours from employees once the labor market is not as favorable to workers as it is right now.
Fauci says US headed in ‘wrong direction’ on coronavirus
The United States is in an “unnecessary predicament” of soaring COVID-19 cases fueled by unvaccinated Americans and the virulent delta variant, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert said Sunday.
“We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, describing himself as “very frustrated.”
He said recommending that the vaccinated wear masks is “under active consideration” by the government’s leading public health officials. Also, booster shots may be suggested for people with suppressed immune systems who have been vaccinated, Fauci said.
Fauci praised Republicans, including Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Ron DeSantis of Florida, and the second-ranking House leader, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, for encouraging their constituents to get vaccinated. Their states have among the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
“This is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated, which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,” Fauci said.
Driven by pandemic, social media use surged in Seattle
The pandemic transformed how we live in so many fundamental ways, perhaps we didn’t even notice all of the changes. One is how the pandemic has affected our use of social media.
Did you find yourself turning more to Facebook or Instagram to keep in touch with family and friends, at a time when you were all cooped up at home and practicing social distancing? Perhaps you spent more time on Twitter looking for news and opinions on the pandemic. Or maybe you found yourself with more free time and went down a YouTube “rabbit hole.”
New data from market-research firm Nielsen shows that adults in the Seattle metro area (which includes King, Pierce and Snohomish counties) have spent a lot more time on social media during the pandemic.
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