The number of Spokane County residents sickened by COVID-19 is approaching 30,000 since the pandemic began.

The Spokane Regional Health District reported 257 new cases of the disease Sunday, bringing the total number of infected to 29,722 people since March. The health district reported 413 people have died after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The district did not report Sunday how many people were hospitalized in the county for treatment of COVID-19. On Friday, there were 119 people in hospitals in the county for treatment of the disease.

Eastern Washington, like the rest of the state, will begin the week in Phase 1 of Washington’s new regional phased approach to reopening.

New case numbers in the Panhandle Health District are not reported on the weekends.

An additional 274,000 Americans tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The university reported 3,735 more Americans died Sunday of COVID-19. That brings the death toll in the United States to more than 374,000 since the pandemic began.Kip Hill can be reached at (509) 459-5429 or at kiph@spokesman.com.