Washington state coronavirus illnesses to peak by mid-April: research

FERNDALE, Wash. (NEWS 1130) – Hospitals in Washington state could see the peak of novel coronavirus illnesses by mid-April, according to research from the University of Washington (UW).

KOMO reports that health officials say the highest number of cases is expected sometime around April 19th, based on updated models from UW.

However, those models are based on accurate data coming from counties, who report that information to the state — and the system that processes that information has been struggling.

In a release, the state health department says the tool they use wasn’t designed to track negative results, which is overwhelming it.

The department apologizes and says they continue to work toward a solution, including listing negative test results separately.

Currently, hundreds of people have died in Washington state and thousands have tested positive.

Fewer Cars, Cleaner Air

One of the main indicators Governor Jay Inslee says the state will use to track how many people are staying home is road data — but state leaders can also see a dip in the amount of air pollution belched into the pristine sky above the Puget Sound.

The Seattle Times reports that, because there fewer cars on the road, area sensors are detecting a bit less particulate matter in the air.

Satellite images are also showing what appears to be lower emissions in March 2020 versus March 2019.

However, one expert the paper talked with says that fewer car emissions on this scale — while not a bad development — will do nothing to stem climate change.

That expert says we would need to see an even bigger dive-off in fossil fuel use for at least a year for that change to register in global carbon dioxide levels.