2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (COVID-19)

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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.

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:
  • What to do if you have confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (PDF)
  • What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (PDF)
  • What to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and have not been around anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (PDF)
• You can also use the online Coronavirus Assessment Tool developed by Providence and Microsoft.

How do I get tested?

• If you have symptoms, call your healthcare provider.
• Learn more about testing.

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 26, 2020 at 3:45 p.m.

Due to a nearly ten-fold increase in the number of lab reports received electronically, our database is experiencing a substantial slowdown in processing lab data. Our IT team is working to correct the issue. In the meantime, daily updates may be published late and there may be a delay in including some test results in our totals.

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.