Washington state reported over 800 more coronavirus Thursday, one day after reaching a grim milestone of 5,000 COVID-19 related deaths.
The Washington Department of Health reported 854 new COVID-19 cases, 34 additional hospitalizations and 20 more deaths in the past 24 hours.
State health officials have confirmed 343,090 coronavirus cases, 19,500 hospitalizations and 5,032 deaths since the pandemic began.
As more COVID vaccine becomes available in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee said he is preparing to expand the numbers and groups of people who will be eligible to receive a shot.
The new timeline, which begins in less than three weeks, was unveiled at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
At the current trajectory, Inslee said it's expected critical workers will become eligible for the vaccine starting March 22. That group, known as the second tier of Phase 1B, includes workers in agriculture, food processing, grocery stores, public transit, firefighters, law enforcement, as well as workers in corrections, prisons, jails or detention centers.