This month marks one year since the coronavirus pandemic swiftly upended daily life in the United States. In 2020, March brought about emergency declarations and indefinite school closures, followed by record unemployment claims and dozens of stay-at-home orders. By the end of the month, millions of people were either told to stay inside under lockdown or continue carrying Read More
While millions wait for a lifesaving shot, the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus continues to soar upward with horrifying speed. On Tuesday, the last full day of Donald Trump's presidency, the official death count reached 400,000 — a once-unthinkable number. More than 100,000 Americans have perished in the pandemic in just the past five weeks.Read More
Some of the hardest hit places have been long-term care facilities in rural areas like Tonasket in Okanogan County, and in central Washington. At least three care facilities in Grant County have reported outbreaks and deaths since a large wedding near Ritzville last month attended by some care facility staff who later tested positive for COVID-19. But a definitive Read More
The U.S. death toll has doubled since May. Some experts predict it could nearly double again before 2020 ends. "We are experiencing a tremendous amount of unnecessary suffering," one researcher says.Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has instructed the state Department of Health (DOH) to prepare to test all nursing home residents and staff for COVID-19 in the coming weeks, according to the physician leading the state’s testing strategy.Read More
The report comes as the government announced all states must now meet federal reporting guidelines. The type of information gathered by states up to now has been inconsistent.Read More
The number of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases more than doubled in the first eight days of April. Nursing and assisted-living centers in Bellingham, Coupeville, Everett, Kennewick, Kirkland, Richland and Shoreline have each reported at least 25 COVID-19 casesRead More
"Case fatality rates have been very confusing," says Dr. Steven Lawrence, an infectious disease expert. Here's why.Read More
More than 30 residents and employees of a Bellingham nursing facility have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting officials to take steps to avoid a deadly scenario that played out in Kirkland, Washington's Life Care Center.Read More
As more nursing facilities in Washington report cases of coronavirus, the death toll at Life Care serves as an example of the vulnerability of the elderly in the growing pandemic.Read More