The Friday, May 29 data from the Snohomish Health District continue much as they have, showing no major deviation from the trends of the past two weeks.

Incremental new cases per day (yellow chart) added another case over the pasts 24 hours, maintaining a relatively steady pace of new infections with 25 added since Thursday.

As we pointed out in our previous reports, this measure is one to watch to determine when Snohomish County would become eligible to apply for reopening under Gov. Jay Inslee’s Phase 2 criteria. It specifies that counties must show fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 population over a 14-day span to qualify for stage two.  While several counties, mostly rural, have already qualified, Snohomish County (pop. 822,000) would have to show fewer than 82 new cases over two weeks.  According to Snohomish Health District data, we are currently at just less than three times this level, with 192 confirmed new cases reported in the May 15-29 timeframe (refer to accompanying countywide 2-week table). See more details on the Governor’s criteria here.

Reasoning that the more recent numbers show us trending closer to these threshold levels, county officials announced on Friday that they have met the various other criteria (for example, personal protective equipment availability, testing, contact tracing) and will move forward and submit application for Phase 2 reopening.  See full story here.

Total Active Cases (red chart) jumped by 14 since yesterday, with 496 currently down with the virus.

Number of recovered cases (green chart) continued its slow gain, adding four recoveries in the past 24 hours.  The number of Snohomish County residents who have contracted the virus and recovered now stands at 2,698. One additional hospitalization (purple chart) was added today, bringing the total currently receiving hospital care for COVID-19 to 38.

In a week marked by an uptick in COVID-19-related deaths, Friday’s data brings a welcome reprieve with no new deaths (gray chart) in the past 24 hours. The total Snohomish County COVID-19 death toll over the full reporting period continues to stand at 148, or 4.42% of the total number infected (confirmed plus probable).

The local numbers for Friday, May 29, 2020:

— By Larry Vogel

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From the State of Washington

State Employment Security Department says it has recovered more than $300 million in  fraudulent claims

Commissioner Suzi LeVine Thursday spoke with media to talk about the agency’s efforts to quickly process tens of thousands of outstanding claims as well as the agency’s efforts to combat fraudulent claims. LeVine said efforts with federal law enforcement and banks have resulted in the recovery of more than $300 million in stolen funds. Read the story.

Some state camping opens Monday

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Parks), Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Natural Resources State public lands managers will reopen campgrounds in 22 counties beginning Monday, June 1. Counties reopening for camping are all actively in Phase 2 of Gov. Inslee’s ‘Safe Start’ plan and have also been approved for camping by county officials. The public should check the State Parks website for details and reservations.