Coronavirus In Redmond: The Week In Review

REDMOND, WA — Before November, Washington had never logged more than 2,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day. Over the past seven days, the state surpassed that number four times.

This week has seen Washington struggle to adapt to this third, record-breaking surge in new coronavirus infections. Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a suite of new coronavirus restrictions, limiting capacity at retailers, banning indoor dining and outright closing museums, gyms, and several other businesses in a bid to cut down on coronavirus transmissions.

Due to the surge in infections and transmissions, health officials continue to urge Washingtonians to stay home for the holidays. The Washington State Department of Health issued a statement Friday evening, pleading with residents to forego Thanksgiving travel, reading in part:

"The Department of Health (DOH) strongly urges everyone to limit their holiday celebrations to only members of their immediate households. We also encourage anyone with symptoms or close contact with someone who is infected (or suspected to be infected) with COVID-19 to get tested now. And for now, we discourage others without symptoms from seeking tests."

The final portion of that statement speaks to a problem across much of the state: residents flocking to testing sites in droves, hoping to receive negative tests so they can return home for Thanksgiving. Due to the increase in demand, the DOH is asking residents to avoid getting tested unless they are suffering COVID-19 symptoms.

In Redmond, Public Health - Seattle & King County recorded nine cases Friday, with 91 positive tests, four hospitalizations and no new deaths resulting from the coronavirus over the past two weeks. The city's 14-day testing positivity rate is at 5.2 percent, while King County's overall positivity rate has risen to 6.6 percent.

Related: King County Coronavirus Cases Hit New Highs, More Hospitalized

Catch up on this week's headlines:

Virus surges across America

Washington is not the only state suffering an unprecedented number of new coronavirus cases, with a record-breaking 193,000 confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday alone. The country also broke the record for coronavirus testing and hospitalization counts on Friday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Due to the recent spike in cases across the country, the Centers for Disease Control, like the Washington State Department of Health, is urging residents to remain at home for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Thursday, the CDC updated their guidance, telling America that "postponing planned travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year."

"What's at stake is basically the increased chance of one of your loved ones becoming sick and then being hospitalized and dying," Henry Walke, CDC's COVID-19 incident manager, said.

Read more: CDC Advises No Thanksgiving Travel Amid Coronavirus Spikes

Washington COVID-19 restrictions go into effect

As of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday morning, all of Washington's latest batch of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions are now in effect statewide.

Those restrictions include:

• Indoor social gatherings with people from outside your household are prohibited unless a 14-day quarantine is completed before the event (or a weeklong quarantine with a negative test result received within 48 hours).
• Outdoor social gatherings should be limited to five people from outside your household.
• Bars and restaurants can no longer seat patrons inside. Those businesses can still serve patrons outdoors, though table sizes are limited to five people or fewer, and only people from the same household.
• Fitness facilities and gyms are closed for indoor operations. Outdoor fitness classes may still occur, but they are limited by the outdoor gathering restriction listed above. Drop-off child care closed.
• Bowling centers are closed for indoor service.
• Miscellaneous venues: All retail activities and business meetings are prohibited. Only professional training and testing that cannot be performed remotely is allowed. Occupancy in each meeting room is limited to 25 percent or 100 people, whichever is fewer.
• Movie theaters are closed for indoor service. Drive-in movie theaters are still permitted and must follow the current drive-in movie theater guidance.
• Museums/zoos/aquariums closed for indoor service.
• Real estate open houses are prohibited.
• Wedding and funerals receptions are prohibited. Ceremonies are limited to no more than 30 people.
• In-store retail (including grocery stores) is limited to 25 percent indoor occupancy and must close any common/congregate non-food-related seating areas. Food court indoor seating is closed.
• Religious services are limited to 25 percent indoor occupancy or no more than 200 people, whichever is fewer. No choir, band or ensemble shall perform during the service. Soloists are permitted to perform. Facial coverings must be worn at all times by congregation members, with no congregational singing.
• Professional services are required to mandate that employees work from home when possible, and to close offices to the public. If they remain open, occupancy is restricted to 25 percent.
• Personal services are limited to 25 percent of maximum occupancy.
• Long-term care facilities are limited to outdoor visits only. Exceptions can be made for essential support person and end-of-life care.
• Youth (school and non-school) and adult sporting activities are limited to outdoor only for intrateam practices, masks required for athletes.

Read more: Final New Coronavirus Restriction On Restaurants Goes Into Effect

Inslee announces plan to support businesses, families during pandemic restrictions

The new pandemic restrictions are likely to cause further economic turmoil in a state that was already barely crawling towards recovery. To compensate Friday Gov. Jay Inslee a new, $135 million package designed to help support businesses and families that are struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

At a news conference introducing the plan Friday, Inslee explained that the package will hopefully counteract some of the hardships caused by the state's recent suite of coronavirus-related restrictions.

"We are in a very difficult situation, and we are acting to save people's lives in the state of Washington," Inslee said. "But we also need to act to help people whose economic prospects have been damaged by this pandemic."

Most of the money set aside in the $135 million package will go to support local businesses suffering under those restrictions. The remainder will go to lower income Washingtonians struggling to pay rent and utilities.

Read more: Inslee Announces $135 Million To Support Businesses, Families

Washington approves clinics to administer COVID-19 vaccine

An effective coronavirus vaccine could still be months away, but Washington state already has six providers cleared to distribute that vaccine when it does come.

The Washington State Department of Health issued an update to their vaccine distribution program Thursday, confirming that they had approved six providers to administer any upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. The state did not clarify which six clinics had received approval, but hundreds more will likely join the six before the vaccine is released: 369 applications to administer the vaccine are still being processed. The state says they want as many clinics, pharmacies and doctor's offices as possible to apply to become vaccine administration sites, so that the vaccine can be distributed widely across the state when it is released.

Once the vaccine is approved at the federal level, Washington has entered a pact with several other western states to perform an independent review to ensure the vaccine's safety before it is distributed.

As for the vaccine itself, one candidate appears to be drawing close to approval. Pfizer claims that their vaccine is 95 percent effective, appears safe and will protect high-risk patients. As the Associated Press reports, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has been alerted and will be ready to review the vaccine for emergency distribution in early December.

Read more: WA Approves 6 To Distribute Coronavirus Vaccine, More Pending

Total coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths by county:

Editors note: Patch is now updating these totals on a weekly, rather than daily, basis. Readers should keep in mind that the increases below represent infections, hospitalizations and deaths over a seven-day period.

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