More than half of Washington coronavirus cases are ages 60 or above

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has been regularly updating a statewide count of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths by county. As of Tuesday, there are now more than 250 confirmed cases of across nine counties, and 24 deaths across three counties.

A confirmed case is defined by the DOH as a person who has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus.

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Public health officials across the state have recommended staying home when you’re sick, and reducing social contact as much as possible, especially for anyone at high-risk of illness. This high-risk demographic includes individuals who are 60 years of age or older, pregnant women, and people with underlying health issues.

The DOH has broken down the cases by age range on its website, with more than half (56 percent) of the cases affecting Washingtonians who are at least 60 years old, and 22 percent are those who are 80 or older.

The youngest three age ranges, spanning 0-39 years old, account for just 16 percent of cases.

Also reported by the DOH are the percentage of cases by sex at birth, and the total number of patients tested. The DOH does specify that some patients may have had multiple tests.

At publication, 56 percent of cases were in females, 42 percent male, and 2 percent unknown. There has been no connection of risk to race, ethnicity, or nationality.

So far in Washington state, there have been 2,175 negative tests, as reported by the DOH.

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Find all this information, updated daily, on the DOH’s website here.