The daily increase in new coronavirus cases surged by the greatest number ever recorded in Washington state since the start of the pandemic in late February, health officials reported Saturday.
Some 624 new confirmed cases were recorded over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of COVID-19 cases to 28,225, according to the state Department of Health.
[bad iframe src]
Never before have there been so many new cases been tallied in a single day in Washington state. The previous record was 543 new confirmed cases on March 26.
Ten new fatalities also were reported Saturday, raising the statewide death toll to 1,265.
The stunning increase in positive test results comes amid an xplosion" of new cases in Yakima County and the Tri-Cities area - but other counties also are reporting increases as well, health officials said.
The spike in new cases prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to mandate face coverings for everyone in public spaces in Yakima County. And in an interview earlier this week, Inslee said the coronavirus is threatening to "eat the Tri-Cities alive" if preventive measures aren't taken.