Washington Reports 12 Deaths, 545 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

SEATTLE — The Washington State Department of Health's latest update Wednesday afternoon added 545 new laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths, for a total of 91,208 infected and 2,177 dead due to the pandemic thus far.

Deaths Wednesday were reported in Asotin, Clark, Grays Harbor, King, Pierce, Spokane, and Walla Walla counties.

The new numbers mean that, across the state, 80 out of every 100,000 Washingtonians have tested positive for the virus over the past two weeks, up from the mid 70s last week. The state still has a long way to meet its goal of getting that rate to under 25 per 100,000 over two weeks.

Despite that slight increase, the state has begun the process of slowly reopening once again. While the pause on upgrading counties to the next phases of the Safe Start plan remains, Wednesday marked the first full day since Gov. Inslee issued new guidance allowing theaters and libraries to reopen, and for restaurants to seat larger tables and serve drinks later, among other changes.

Catch up on the latest developments:

Study: housing homeless in hotels effective for slowing spread

A King County initiative that moved people experiencing homelessness out of shelters and into hotel rooms appears to have helped slow transmission early on in the pandemic, according to a new study by UW and the county's Department of Community and Human Services.

Since the program began, it has provided temporary rooms for about 800 people across three hotels in Bellevue, Renton and Seatac. Researchers say those hotel rooms offered a variety of benefits on top of slowing transmissions, including improved physical and mental health among the tenants, reduced conflict in shelters, and higher rates of exits into permanent housing.

"Moving people from large shelters to individual hotel rooms not only succeeded in slowing the spread of COVID-19, but also provided security, privacy and dignity to hundreds of people in our region experiencing homelessness," said Dow Constantine, King County Executive.

Read more: Study Finds Housing Homeless In King County Hotels Is Effective

L&I has investigated 4,200 mask compliant complaints, but only fined 11

Since the mask mandate, requiring customers and employees at businesses across Washington to wear facial coverings, went into effect this summer, the state department of Labor & Industries has been called to investigate mask complaints at 4,200 businesses.

Despite that, they say they only had to resort to fining 11 businesses between July to September.

"Wearing masks helps protect workers and others by reducing exposure to the virus in our communities, so we can reduce fatalities and the impact to our health care system," said Anne Soiza, L&I assistant director for the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. "Our goal is to get employers to comply with mask requirements through education and assistance, but if that doesn't work they can be cited and fined."

L&I says they'll try several tactics to encourage businesses to follow the mandate before using a fine as a last defense. Normally after receiving a complaint L&I will visit a business anonymously first. If the business isn't following safety guidelines, they'll contact the businesses and inform them of the requirements they're missing. At that point, L&I says, most businesses agree to follow the rules. Those that don't, then receive a warning letter telling them they could face fines, and if the businesses still don't comply at that point, that's when the fines begin.

Read more: 11 Washington Businesses Have Been Fined For Mask Violations

Coronavirus Outbreak At UW Greek System Continues To Grow

The University of Washington reported 35 more confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday, as an outbreak linked to 15 fraternities and sororities has now grown to a total of 212 cases.

This latest outbreak began on Sept. 11 when two cases were reported in off-campus fraternity and sorority houses, but it wasn't long until it bloomed into a full-grown problem. It is also the second outbreak inside UW's Greek system since the beginning of the pandemic.

Tuesday, the university and Public Health - Seattle & King County sent a joint letter to the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic chapters, urging members to step up and help prevent further spread by following established guidelines.

"This isn't the college environment anyone was expecting, but COVID-19 is a reality we need to adapt to by changing our behaviors and activities for the foreseeable future," officials wrote. "Driving down infection rates in order to minimize loss of life and livelihood requires sustained action and mutual support across all sectors of our community and we ask that you honor and abide by the Husky Pledge."

Read more: Coronavirus Outbreak Among UW's Greek System Grows To 212 Cases

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

The above numbers are provided by the state Department of Health, and some numbers differ from the totals provided separately by county health agencies.