Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to restrict gatherings of more than 250 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties on Wednesday, a move aimed at larger venues such as sports, concerts and other cultural events.
Two more deaths in King County have been linked to COVID-19, bringing the total number of fatalities to at least 25 — as Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday that up to 64,000 people could be infected within two months if actions aren’t taken now to stop its spread,
In addition, 74 new confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported Tuesday in King County, bringing the statewide total of confimed cases to at least 267. But Inslee said experts believe the actual number could be 1,000 or more at the present time.
“What the experts are telling us is … the number of people who are infected will double in anywhere from 5 to 8 days … unless we take some real action,” the governor said at a morning news conference.
“And if you do the math, it gets very disturbing. … If it’s 1,000 (infections) today, in seven to eight weeks there could be 64,000 people infected in the state of Washington if we don’t somehow slow down this epidemic. And in the next week it could be 120,000, and in the next week a quarter of a million.”
“We need to look forward and get ahead of the curve in Washington state. If we’re going to stop this epidemic or seriously slow it down, we need to focus on what’s coming – not what’s here today,” Inslee added.
Gov. Inslee has already announced new nursing-home rules that would limit visitors and subject health care workers to special screening. More than 115 public and private schools across the state have shut down for at least a day because of coronavirus concerns.
