Coronavirus updates: Inslee issues personal services guidelines for Phase 2
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Thursday, May 14.
Updated at 2:55 p.m.
Walgreens will open a COVID-19 testing site in Tacoma beginning Friday.
Testing is being conducted outdoors on the property where Walgreens pharmacists are overseeing patients’ self-administration of the COVID-19 test.
Testing at this location — 3540 N Pearle Street, Tacoma — is available by appointment only, and only to individuals who meet eligibility criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In order to receive a test, individuals must first complete an online health screening to determine eligibility available at Walgreens.com/Covid19Testing.
Testing will be available at no cost to eligible individuals who meet CDC criteria. All drive-thru testing is being conducted outside and patients are instructed to not leave their vehicles.
These testing sites are part of Walgreens’ ongoing effort to provide greater access to COVID-19 testing and community resources. The testing location is one of more than 20 locations Walgreens has opened across 15 states, including Washington. The expansion is a next step building on Walgreens’ collaboration with the Administration, federal health agencies, and state and local authorities.
Pierce County reports 25 new cases
Updated at 2:55 p.m.
Pierce County on Thursday reported 25 new COVID-19 cases and two new deaths.
The county’s totals now stand at 1,754 cases and 65 deaths, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Daily case totals can change as the county receives new information about cases, finds duplicate data or is assigned cases originally attributed to other counties.
The county’s COVID-19 tracking page lists the number of assumed recovered cases as 1,005 with estimated still-active confirmed cases at 749.
The two new deaths include a Central Pierce County man in his 50s and a Tacoma man in his 70s, both with underlying health conditions.
There have been 19,322 coronavirus tests run on Pierce County residents with 8.3 percent of them positive, according to state Department of Health. That total does not include negative tests from long-term care facilities or tests not yet assigned to a county, according to the county health department.
This week, the county reported 415 cases at congregate care facilities, up from 318 last week. The “Other Facilities” listing includes sites with fewer than 10 cases or fewer than 30 beds. It also includes homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and rehabilitation centers.
Cases at care facilities among residents and staff as of Wednesday are listed with previous week’s totals in parentheses. Newly listed locations will only show one case total:
▪ Heartwood Extended Health Care, Tacoma: 70 (no change)
▪ Alpha Cottages (Gibraltar Assisted Living), Central Pierce County: 36 (37)
▪ Avamere Puget Sound Transitional Care, Tacoma: 32 (34)
▪ Lindon Grove, Puyallup: 54 (32)
▪ Orchard Park Health and Rehab Center, Tacoma, 20 (19)
▪ Pioneer Place Memory Haven, Central Pierce County: 15 (17)
▪ The Cottages at Edgewood, Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 14 (no change)
▪ People’s Retirement Center, Tacoma: 18 (13)
▪ Other facilities, multiple areas: 156 (82)
Thursday’s geographical totals are listed below with Wednesday’s numbers in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 41 (40)
▪ Central Pierce County: 128 (127)
▪ East Pierce County: 48 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 84 (83)
▪ Frederickson: 59 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 52 (no change)
▪ Graham: 53 (52)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 42 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 183 (181)
▪ Parkland: 94 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 120 (no change)
▪ South Hill: 98 (94)
▪ South Pierce County: 37 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 21 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 58 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 565 (557)
▪ University Place: 57 (51)
▪ Unknown: 7 (no change)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
Inslee issues guidance for personal, professional services
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued guidance for resuming personal services and professional services for counties granted variance under the Safe Start Phase 2 recovery plan laid out last week.
Through the Washington “Safe Start” plan, more businesses and activities will re-open in subsequent phases with adequate safety and health standards in place. Each phase will be at least three weeks —
metrics and data will guide when the state can move from one phase to another.
Through the Safe Start approach, counties with a population of less than 75,000 that have not had a new case of COVID-19 in the past three weeks can apply for a variance to move to Phase 2 of “Safe Start” before other parts of the state. County variance applications will be approved or denied by the secretary of the Department of Health. Eight counties have received the variance.
In order to reopen, personal services establishments must adopt a written procedure for personal services activity that is at least as strict as the state’s Phase 2 safety requirements.
The state provided a full list of requirements for both personal and professional services. The full list for professional services — accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, etc. — is available here. The full list for personal services — hair stylists, nail salon workers, barbers, tattoo artists, etc. — is available here.
The requirements for personal services include:
▪ Authorized access to the business should primarily be through the front door.
▪ Client occupancy should be kept at 50% or lower, with the exception of one to one service in anenclosed room
▪ All personal service businesses are required to develop and post at each location a comprehensive COVID-19 exposure control, mitigation and recovery plan.
▪ COVID-19 safety information and requirements shall be visibly posted at each location.
▪ Soap and running water shall be abundantly provided at all personal service businesses for frequent handwashing.
▪ In areas visible to all workers, post required hygienic practices
▪ All linens, towels, drapes, smocks, etc., must be laundered in accordance with WAC 308-20-110, if applicable.
▪ Disinfectants must be available to employee-service providers and clients
▪ Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces after each use
▪ Shampoo bowl etiquette includes covering the face of the client with a towel while shampooing to protect their mouth, nose and eyes.
▪ Any personal service businesses must adhere to social distancing requirements
▪ Human-machine interfaces must be sanitized and disinfected between users.
▪ Develop a protocol for any physical sign-off requirements to avoid close contact and limit the common use of writing instruments.
▪ Assign employees to small groups and assign them to designated separate bathrooms and breakrooms
▪ Increase ventilation rates where feasible.
▪ Ensure that tissues and trash cans are placed throughout the business
▪ When making personal service appointments, advise clients of new requirements: Client must self-screen for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 before arriving; clients should not plan on bringing other guests with them, clients should advise personal service providers via call, email or text that they have arrived; clients should put on a facemask prior to leaving the vehicle; the service provider will wear a clean cape or gown, as well as providing each client with a clean cape or gown; payments for service should be through credit or debit cards or a touchless system to reduce the handling of cash.
▪ For walk-in appointments, the employer-owner must post a notice on the front door or window regarding access to the facility. The notice should include the phone number that the guest should call to determine availability of services.
Seattle sees 1st case of childhood disease tied to virus
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
Seattle has had its first confirmed case of a rare inflammatory disease in children closely tied to COVID-19.
The disease being called “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome” was identified and treated at Seattle Children’s Hospital, KUOW reported.
King County Public Health said the patient was a resident of Snohomish County and there have been no other confirmed cases in the area.
It involves a “hyper response” of the child’s immune system to the virus, according to Dr. Michael Portman, who directs pediatric cardiovascular research at Children’s.
It can lead to inflammation of the blood vessels, and affect the heart’s arteries, leading to coronary aneurysms. In similar diseases, that can lead to lifelong heart issues, Portman said. The syndrome is rare and most children infected with the virus develop only mild illness.
The disease is being linked to COVID-19, Portman said, because almost all of the patients have had confirmed cases of the virus, positive antibody tests, or known exposure.
Portman said it is very similar and at times appears almost identical to a disease called “Kawasaki disease,” which was identified in Japan in the 1960s. According to Portman, Kawasaki disease is fairly common at Seattle Children’s.
Farmworker housing emergency rules increase worker safety during pandemic
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
New emergency rules regarding temporary farmworker housing will help increase worker safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The rules detail specific steps required at farms where temporary workers live in licensed temporary housing facilities.
The emergency rules, a joint effort between the state departments of Labor & Industries and Health, take effect on May 18. They spell out several required steps to increase physical distancing, improve cleaning and sanitizing, and reduce the chance of a large outbreak or spreading of coronavirus related to temporary worker housing at farms.
Protecting workers from coronavirus
Under the emergency rules, employers must provide occupants of temporary worker housing with cloth face coverings and ensure physical distancing at housing sites, which includes all cooking, eating, bathing, washing, recreational, and sleeping facilities.
Farms are required to frequently clean and disinfect surfaces in housing, and must identify and isolate workers with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Physical distancing for beds and bunk beds
The emergency rules include specific physical distancing requirements for beds and bunk beds. Beds must be at least six feet apart with occupants sleeping head to toe. Beds can be closer when they’re separated by a floor to ceiling temporary non-permeable barrier. A minimum aisle of three feet between the bed and barrier is required.
Farms can only use the lower bunk of bunk beds, unless they use a “group shelter” option.
Guidance for specific industries
L&I has issued coronavirus workplace safety guidance for numerous industries including agriculture, grocery workers, janitorial workers, and construction. All are available on the L&I Division of Occupational Safety and Health coronavirus webpage.
2020 Thurston County Fair canceled
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
The 2020 Thurston County Fair is officially canceled due to concerns regarding COVID-19, following a unanimous vote by the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday.
“This was a very difficult decision for us, as the board, to make,” said Commission Chair John Hutchings in a prepared statement. “We support the fair and look forward to the pancake breakfast each year when we connect with the community. It saddens us deeply that we cannot hold this community event this year but had to make the decision. The protection and well-being of our community is paramount.”
The decision aligned with a recommendation from the local Fair Board.
In a letter to commissioners, Fair Board President Ann Shipley wrote that reasons behind the recommendation included financial considerations, with revenues plummeting in the absence of off-season rentals, and that many of the usual participants and volunteers fall in the 65+ age bracket and wouldn’t be attending.
Fair staff are working on a plan to still hold youth market animal sales with a virtual auction and social distancing precautions in place, according to discussion at Tuesday’s meeting and the news release.
Washington state reports 182 new COVID-19 cases
Updated at 8:32 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 182 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 13 additional deaths.
Statewide totals are now at 17,512 cases and 975 deaths, up from 17,330 cases and 962 deaths on Tuesday.
Pierce County reported five new cases but no new deaths on Wednesday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers with 7,212 cases and 518 deaths. Snohomish County has 2,720 cases and 121 deaths.
Washington’s least populous county, Garfield, remains the only county in the state without a case. Eight other counties are reporting less than 10 cases each.
Washington state has now conducted 261,080 tests with 6.7 percent coming back positive.
There have been 1,388,936 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 83,791 deaths from the virus in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.
US report indicates broad risk of COVID-19 at wildfire camps
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Outbreaks of the coronavirus could sweep through large camps where crews typically stay as they fight wildfires across the U.S., according to a federal document obtained by The Associated Press, and the problem is likely to get worse the longer the fire season lasts.
The U.S. Forest Service’s draft risk assessment suggests that even in a best-case scenario — with social distancing followed and plenty of tests and protective equipment available — nearly two dozen firefighters could be infected with COVID-19 at a camp with hundreds of people who come in to combat a fire that burns for months.
The worst-case scenario? More than 1,000 infections.
“The Forest Service is diligently working with partners to assess the risk that COVID-19 presents for the 2020 fire season,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday. “It is important to understand that the figures in this report are not predictions, but rather, model possible scenarios.”
The Forest Service said the document was outdated and being redone, and the newest version wasn’t yet ready to share. The AP obtained the draft from an official who has access to it and didn’t want to be named.
One of the authors of the risk assessment said Tuesday that in the new version, the infection rates remain the same. But while the draft originally said the death rate among infected firefighters could reach as high as 6%, that is being revised sharply downward, to less than 2%, to reflect newer data, said Jude Bayham, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University.
He said the initial death rate was based on data from early in the pandemic, when testing was far more limited. Based on new data, firefighters — who are largely healthy and young — will likely fare far better if they contract COVID-19 than the general population, he said.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially people who are older or have health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Federal guidelines released last week reimagine how to combat wildfires to reduce the risk of firefighters getting the virus. The guidelines urge fire managers to use small crews that can have the close contact that firefighting and travel often require, while staying away from other groups. The guidelines recommend avoiding the traditional large camps and relying on military-issue ready-to-eat or bagged meals instead of catered buffet-style meals at campsites.
Some fire managers also are told to take temperatures with their own touchless thermometers if possible. The guidelines say everyone should wear masks and other protective equipment when around those outside their immediate crew. Good cleaning and sanitation is recommended, as is isolating firefighters and potentially entire crews if COVID-19 is detected.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 8:58 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Inslee issues personal services guidelines for Phase 2."
