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Washington state Governor Jay Inslee today placed a moratorium on gatherings of 250 people or more in three of the state's most highly-populated counties, a decisive response to a pandemic that threatens the Pacific Northwest.
Shortly thereafter, Seattle Public Schools announced it would be closed for two weeks due to coronavirus concerns. The Seattle Times was among outlets that reported Inslee's decision.
Seattle's announcements fall in the wake of the World Health Organization declaring coronavirus as a pandemic Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority and Gov. Kate Brown have taken no such actions, even as criticism grows that Oregon doesn't know how many people are sick, and could soon face a spike in cases similar to that in Washington.
The OHA announced on Wednesday that four more people have tested positive in Oregon for COVID-19, bringing the state's total cases up to 19. The cases are in Polk, Deschutes, Marion, and Umatilla counties—one in each.
All of the cases were transmitted locally, officials said. The new case in Umatilla County is a result of close contact with the county's first patient—a casino worker—who tested positive for the virus on March 2.
Oregon is only able to test 40 people per day, a far smaller number than neighboring states, so it's likely that many more cases remain undetected. State health officials are expecting commercial testing to be available this week or next, which they say will allow them to increase that number.
To date, Oregon state officials have not warned against large scale gatherings for the general population. Following national guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state suggested vulnerable populations avoid large crowds.
So far, the state has tested 367 people for the virus. The majority of the 19 cases detected are among people 55 years and older. Nine of the patients were hospitalized for the virus, and 10 were not.