en Español - Spanish Русский – Russian Tiếng Việt – Vietnamese 한국어 – Korean
On January 21, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Washington State Department of Health announced the first case of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States in Washington State.
This guidance does not pertain to Gov. Jay Inslee’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order issued 3/23/2020. Information on that order is available on the Governor's website.
Learn more about the coronavirus from Washington State’s official COVID-19 website. Maintained by the state Joint Information Center.
Contact our Call Center
The Washington State Department of Health has established a call center to address questions from the public. If you have questions about what is happening in Washington, or how the virus is spread, please call 1-800-525-0127. Phone lines are currently staffed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m, seven days a week. Please note that this call center can not access COVID-19 testing results. For testing inquiries or results, please contact your health care provider.
Symptoms and Testing
What should I do if I have symptoms or have been exposed?
- Call your healthcare provider, or call before going to the emergency room.
- We have guidance available for people who have or think they may have COVID-19:
- You can also use the online Coronavirus Assessment Tool developed by Providence and Microsoft.
How do I get tested?
Current Situation in Washington
What's the current risk?
The risk posed by a virus outbreak depends on factors including how well it spreads between people, the severity of the illness it causes, and the medical or other measures we have to control the impact of the virus (for example, vaccine or treatment medications).
- COVID-19 is spreading in several communities in Washington, the risk of exposure is increasing for people who live in our state.
- Healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19 are at elevated risk of exposure.
- Those who have had close contact with persons with COVID-19 are at elevated risk of exposure.
- Travelers returning from affected international locations where community spread is occurring are at elevated risk of exposure.
Our knowledge of COVID-19 is still rapidly evolving. The risk assessment will be updated as needed.
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Washington
Updated on March 25, 2020 at 6:20 p.m.
The state's notifiable conditions database is currently experiencing a slowdown because of a 10-fold increase in the number of lab reports received. Our IT team is working to correct the issue.
Number of Individuals Tested
Updated on March 23, 2020 at 3:06 p.m. with the exception of positive cases of individuals tested
| Result |
Number of Individuals Tested |
Percent of Tests |
| Negative |
31,712 |
93% |
| Positive |
2,580 |
7% |
Confirmed Cases / Deaths by Age
Updated on March 23, 2020 at 3:06 p.m.
| Age Group |
Percent of Cases |
Percent of Deaths |
| <19 |
2% |
0% |
| 20-29 |
9% |
0% |
| 30-39 |
14% |
0% |
| 40-49 |
13% |
2% |
| 50-59 |
17% |
5% |
| 60-69 |
16% |
12% |
| 70-79 |
15% |
30% |
| 80+ |
14% |
50% |
Confirmed Cases / Deaths by Gender
Updated on March 23, 2020 at 3:06 p.m.
| Sex at Birth |
Percent of Cases |
Percent of Deaths |
| Female |
51% |
54% |
| Male |
46% |
44% |
| Unknown |
4% |
2% |
Note on the county and unassigned data: This data changes rapidly as labs conduct tests and discover new cases. Labs assign those cases to a county. Counties or the Department of Health then determine the appropriate county of jurisdiction. Those don’t always match initially. We’re working to reduce the “unassigned” number to 0. Contact the local health department for county specific information.
Note on the deaths: Some deaths may be reported by health care providers, medical examiners/coroners, local health departments, or others before they are included in the statewide count. It takes longer for the state to announce deaths because they are often reported first to the local health department and then to us.
Note on the number of infections: Public health experts agree that the true number of people who have been infected with COVID-19 in Washington greatly exceeds the number of COVID-19 infections that have been laboratory-confirmed. It is very difficult to know exactly how many people in Washington have been infected to date since most people with COVID-19 experience mild illness and the ability to get tested is still not widely available.