Agritourism, agricultural industry guidance update

Gov. Jay Inslee Friday announced updated guidance for agritourism and the agricultural industry as part of Washington's Safe Start reopening plan. The guidance for Agritourism has been updated to allow for additional activities, including animal viewing, hay/wagon/train rides, children's play equipment/games, and private firepit/bonfires.

COVID-19 Moderately Steady

As of Sunday, mid-afternoon, there were another 441 coronavirus cases confirmed in Washington, bringing the total number of diagnoses to 74,320, including 1,905 deaths, according to the state Department of Health. At least 6,740 people have been hospitalized in the state due to the virus. Through Saturday afternoon, there were another 578 coronavirus cases confirmed in Washington, bringing the total number of diagnoses to 73,879, including 1,905 deaths. At least 6,723 people have been hospitalized in the state due to the virus. There were another 598 cases confirmed on Friday and 542 Thursday.

In some parts of the state, COVID-19 cases are plateauing, including King County, health officials say, but new outbreaks around prisons, college towns and hospitals underscore that Washington still needs to be in a state of caution.

State Unemployment Claims Fall

New unemployment claims in Washington state fell for the sixth straight week. There's a new federal program that gives Washingtonians a chance for a $300 per week benefit.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment dropped last week, slipping below 1 million for the first time since the economic shutdown sparked by the coronavirus pandemic began in the spring.

National Numbers Improving

The number of new applications for unemployment benefits, a rough measure of layoffs, declined to 963,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday, which was the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week. It's the first time weekly claims have dipped below 1 million since the week ending March 14, with the figure sharply below the 1.25 million some economists expected. But while the downward slide is a welcome trend, it doesn't mean the economy has rebounded. Unemployment slipped to 10.2 percent in July, down from 11.1 percent in June. The U.S. added 1.8 million jobs in July.

COVID-19 Case Update

As of Monday, 10 am (PT), there were 183,221 deaths in the USA as a result of COVID-19, and a total of 6,006,327 confirmed cases. Globally, there were 847, 292 deaths and 25,292,931 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.