Washington state breaks 1M COVID-19 case threshold

Washington state this week surpassed 1 million COVID-19 cases, joining the more than 20 other U.S. states that have reached this grim milestone as cases surge due to the omicron variant.

The Washington State Department of Health confirmed this development on Wednesday, according to The Seattle Times, roughly one week before the second anniversary of the first U.S. coronavirus case being reported in the Evergreen State.

Nearly half of all U.S. states have now recorded more than 1 million coronavirus cases. California, Texas and Florida currently have the highest amount of confirmed cases, with California having recorded over 6.5 million cases.

The Times noted that with Washington’s population of about 7.6 million people, nearly 1 out of 7 people in the state have now contracted COVID-19.

According to the most recent data from the state’s department of health, Washington has confirmed over 10,000 deaths due to COVID-19. About 75 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the state were among the unvaccinated, while 19 percent were among those who were immunized.

Nearly 80 percent of Washington’s population over the age of 5 has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and over 70 percent are fully vaccinated.