'We remain deeply concerned': Coronavirus hospitalizations, deaths continue to rise in Washington

Coronvirus hospitalizations are continuing to rise at rapid rates across Washington, worrying health officials who are urging people to double down on efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Public health officials said Wednesday the state is also seeing an increase in deaths due to the virus.

"We remain deeply concerned about our situation," Secretary of Health John Wiesman said during a news briefing Wednesday. "We continue to see high daily case counts and alarming increases in hospitalizations. We also expect that there may be an uptick in new cases following Thanksgiving gatherings that may have occurred."

Coronavirus cases have been rising across the state since September. In recent weeks, most counties across the state have reported new peaks in daily coronavirus cases.

Hospitalizations have also been on the rise across the state. As of Nov. 30, 1,077 of the 10,100 acute care beds were being occupied by people with suspected and confirmed cases of coronavirus — about 10.7% of all acute care beds. At the beginning of October, fewer than 400 acute care beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Among adult ICU staffed beds, 23.2% were occupied by people with suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases, a significant jump from early November, when less than 19% of ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients.

The rise in cases and hospitalizations continues to worry health officials, who are trying to avoid overwhelming the already strained hospitals across the state. Hospitals have started to cancel elective and non-urgent procedures to make sure they have enough space and staff to care for COVID-19 patients.

"What's really concerning to me is that we still continue to see a really sharp increase in the number of people who are being hospitalized for COVID-19 every day," State Health Officer Kathy Lofy said. "Also concerning is that we are now seeing an increase in COVID-19 deaths."

Lofy said in early September, the state was reporting about five deaths per day. That number has steadily climbed over time, and the state is now seeing an average of about 12 deaths being reported each day, she said.

It's not yet clear how the recent Thanksgiving holiday will impact the spread of the virus. Ahead of the holiday, health officials pleaded with people over and over again to forgo their in-person gatherings this year, cancel travel plans and gather only with members of their own household. Whether people heeded to those warnings will likely become clearer in coming weeks.

It will also take time to see the impacts of the new statewide restrictions put into place last month to slow the spread of the virus. The restrictions included closing down indoor dining at restaurants and bars, shutting down indoor gyms and capping occupancy at retail and grocery stores at 25%. The restrictions will be in place through at least mid-December, at which time health officials will assess what the next steps should be.

State officials are also preparing for vaccine distribution across the state. As of Dec. 1, the state has had more than 100 providers enrolled to become a COVID-19 vaccine provider, with more applications partially completed or pending approval, said Michele Roberts, who is leading the COVID-19 vaccine planning and distribution at the Department of Health. The state is continuing to receive applications from clinics, pharmacies and hospitals who want to become COVID-19 vaccine providers.

Roberts said officials are also finalizing the state's initial vaccine allocation and prioritization framework. The first phase of vaccine distribution will prioritize certain groups of people, including healthcare workers who work with COVID-19 patients, and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.

Officials are also working on tools that will make it easier for people to figure out which phase they are in and when they will be eligible to receive the vaccine, Roberts said.

"This is a very exciting time for us but there's still a lot of learning to be done," Roberts said. "For example, further research is needed to understand how long this vaccine will protect us. Getting vaccine to the people of Washington is a large and coordinated effort and the timeline for all eligible people to receive vaccine will take many months."