The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington jumped to 70 on Thursday morning, including a Grant County resident hospitalized in critical condition at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

One new death was reported in King County – a woman in her 90s – bringing the death toll to 11 in Washington from the respiratory disease. The case in Grant County represents the first case confirmed east of the Cascades. The rest of the cases are in King and Snohomish counties.

The Grant County patient is a Quincy resident in their 80s.

Peter Rutherford, CEO of Confluence Health, which owns Central Washington Hospital, said the Grant County patient who tested positive was first admitted to the hospital Saturday. But the person did not initially meet the state’s requirements for COVID-19 testing, the Wenatchee World reported. The patient has no travel history outside of the country, a release from Grant County Health District says.

After Central Washington Hospital sent samples to the University of Washington to be tested, the results came back presumptive positive, pending confirmation at the state health lab. Close contacts of the patient have been asked to quarantine, the health district’s release said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention loosened guidelines to test patients for COVID-19 this week, which will lead to an increase in testing in the coming weeks.

Spokane County and the Northeast Tri County health districts have also submitted samples for people tested for COVID-19. Neither county has announced results of those tests.

As of Thursday morning, Spokane County health officials still had not received results despite the state lab receiving those samples on Monday. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said there is a backlog for tests which they expect to be corrected by Friday.

Tri County Health officials were told that their test was not in the morning batch of samples set to be analzyed at the state health lab in Shoreline.

As the latest numbers on confirmed cases were announced, Gov. Jay Inslee said the state will require insurance companies operating in Washington to waive co-pays and deductibles for COVID-19 testing. For people without insurance, the state will cover the costs of testing.

A person who has to go out of their health insurance’s network to see a health care provider must be charged at the same rate as an in-network visit, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said.

Workers compensation payments will also be available for health care workers and first responders who are unable to work because they are placed in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19 while on the job. The state is also looking at the unemployment compensation system for aid to people who are laid off by actions to contain the virus.

Testing kits are limited, Inslee, said, but a person who is experiencing mild symptoms should take the same precautions and stay home from work, wash hands frequently and avoid family members as much as possible.

Inslee is advising Washington residents to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people that could be considered “non-essential.”

“It’s something we want people to consider. This is not an order,” he said.

But if conditions warrant it, Inslee does have the authority under state law to issue such an order.

The benefits of an order would have to outweigh the disruptions to the economy and personal freedom, Inslee said.

Right now, any decision to close a school has been deferred to local school officials, he said.

This story is developing and will be updated.