SPOKANE, Wash. — The number of people under public health supervision for coronavirus dropped significantly this weekend, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The number of people under public health supervision as of Monday morning is 231. Just last Friday, the number sat at 382.
A week ago, 794 people were under supervision for the illness.
These people are at risk of having been exposed to the virus and their health is being monitored by public health officials.
The number also includes people who have been close to others that have confirmed laboratory cases of coronavirus, as well as people who have returned from China in the past 14 days.
Jessica Baggett, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, said the number dropped significantly because people passed through the 14-day monitoring window "without complications."
She added that it's hard to say if the numbers will continue to drop, as the Department of Health may see new cases of the virus or residents heading back to Washington.
Public health supervision means that a person receives a packet of information, connects every day with a local health officer to make sure they do not have symptoms of the virus, and is asked to self-quarantine at home to make sure they do not spread the virus, Baggett said.
One person in Snohomish County has tested positive for the virus and 25 have tested negative, according to the department. Test results are pending for two people who are under investigation..
Baggett said she did not have additional information on Monday about the pending test results.
"While the current situation poses a public health threat, we have no evidence the virus is spreading in Washington so the risk to the general public is low," the department wrote on its website.
There are 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus, now named COVID-19, in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The viral outbreak that emerged in China has infected more than 77,000 people globally, killing thousands of people.