Monkeypox Cases Up, COVID Cases Down In Washington State

SEATTLE, Wash. – It’s a good news/bad news virus update in Washington State.

Chief Science Officer Tao Kwan-Gett says there are now over 200 cases of Monkeypox in the state and the numbers are quickly climbing, “Cases have been doubling every 8 days or so.”

He says almost all cases are gay or bi-sexual men.

But, he says it’s important to know that the virus isn’t a sexually transmitted disease, “The virus doesn’t care about your gender or sexual orientation.”

He says the data is limited, but it appears Hispanics are overrepresented.

On the COVID front, he says cases and hospitalizations have plateaued and are coming down.

However, there’s a caveat, “Probably only got data on 10 to 18 percent of actual infections, because of home testing.”