Historic Northwest heat wave linked to dozens of deaths and hundreds of emergency room visits
By Angela Fritz, Carma Hassan and Brisa Colon, CNN
Hundreds of people have visited emergency departments or urgent-care clinics in the Pacific Northwest since Friday and as many as 60 deaths have been reported as an excruciating heat wave smashed all-time temperature records in Oregon, Washington and Canada.
Portland set record-high temperatures three days in a row, topping out at 116 degrees on Monday. Seattle hit 108 degrees, a new record. At least two locations in Washington reached 118 degrees, which, if confirmed, would tie the state temperature record that dates back to 1928.
Washington is reopening Wednesday. Do I have to keep wearing a mask?
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 5 hrs ago Josephine Peterson, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Jun. 29 Washington will be fully reopened on June 30, but some people will be required to continue wearing masks.
The Governor s Office has confirmed the state will lift the mask requirement after 13 months for people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, but unvaccinated Washingtonians are required to continue to wear masks or other face coverings until further notice.
Fully vaccinated is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as two weeks from the second shot of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or from the single shot of Johnson & Johnson.
The record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest has sent more than 1,100 people to hospitals and clinics businessinsider.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from businessinsider.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DOH: You may still need your mask even as state reopens on June 30
Published
King County mask mandate ends
King County is ending its mask mandate a day before Washington fully reopens its economy for the first time since the pandemic began.
SEATTLE - Although Washington state is fully reopening its economy on June 30, the Secretary of Health’s mask order will remain in place even after that date, which means that people who are not fully vaccinated need to continue to wear a face mask in public indoor settings.
All people, regardless of vaccination status, are still required to wear masks in certain places, such as schools and health care settings.
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
A brutal heat wave across the Pacific Northwest has sent hundreds to the hospital since Friday.
Both Seattle and Portland broke multiple triple-digit temperature records throughout the weekend.
In such extreme conditions, all people are at risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, experts say.
A brutal heat wave across the Pacific Northwest has sent hundreds of people to hospitals and clinics for heat illness in a region unaccustomed to and unprepared for such extreme conditions.
Monday marked the third day in a row of triple digits in many Northwest cities an unprecedented sign of the impending climate crisis, according to experts. While temperatures cooled slightly along the coast on Tuesday, the relentless heat persisted inland.