Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 32 new cases; Inslee to mandate facial coverings in Yakima
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Saturday, June 20.
WASHINGTON STATE PASSES 28K CASES
Updated 5:30 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 624 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths Saturday.
Statewide totals have reached 28,225 cases and 1,265 deaths, up from 27,601 cases and 1,255 deaths Friday.
King County has 9,154 cases and 601 deaths, while Yakima County has 6,129 cases and 136 deaths and Snohomish County has 3,226 cases and 163 deaths.
Pierce County reported 32 new cases Saturday, bringing its totals to 2,257 cases and 84 deaths.
Nineteen of the state’s 39 counties have reported more than 100 cases, and 11 counties have reported at least 10 virus-related deaths.
Garfield, the state’s least populous county, remains the only county without a reported case. Six other counties are reporting fewer than 10 cases each.
There are 62 cases that have not been assigned to a county.
There were 12 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to state hospitals on June 12, the most recent date with complete data. The total number of people who have been hospitalized in the state stood at 4,030 on Saturday.
There have been 466,069 tests conducted in the state with 6.1% coming back positive.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
THURSTON COUNTY STILL WAITING ON PHASE 3 DECISION
Updated 3:30 p.m.
Thurston County continues to wait on a response from the state about its application to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan.
The county submitted its Phase 3 application Wednesday.
“We know many of you are wondering, Thurston County remains in Phase 2,” Thurston County Public Health and Social Services tweeted Saturday. “The (Washington State Department of Health) is reviewing our application to move to Phase 3. As part of the routine process, we are having follow up discussions and responding to their questions. As soon as we know more, we will share.”
The county confirmed four new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, including a girl and boy in the 10-19 years old age range and two women in their 20s.
There have been 214 confirmed cases in the county since the first was announced March 11 and five deaths.
The county estimates of the 214 cases, 173 have recovered or are recovering.
INSLEE TO MANDATE FACIAL COVERINGS IN YAKIMA COUNTY
Updated 3 p.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee will mandate wearing facial coverings in public spaces in Yakima County to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, he announced during a virtual press conference Saturday.
The order will go into effect early next week.
“This is a legal requirement, it is not just a suggestion,” Inslee said. “That is required if we are going to prevent this disaster from overtaking this beautiful valley.”
Businesses will also be legally required not to sell or give services to customers who do not comply with the order, Inslee said.
“That essentially means no mask, no service, and no mask, no goods,” he said.
Inslee pointed to several statistics to illustrate what he called a “desperate situation” in the county.
Yakima County has the highest rate per capita of COVID-19 cases in the western United States, and had reported 5,915 confirmed cases and 131 deaths as of Friday.
The county has the second-most cases in the state behind King County (9,061), which is far more populated, accounting for 29.6% of the state’s residents.
Yakima County also has the third-most COVID-19 deaths in the state — behind King (600) and Snohomish (162) — and accounts for 10.4% of COVID-19 deaths statewide while representing only 3.3% of the state’s population.
The county also accounts for 22% of the COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide, and has 19% of its hospital beds occupied by patients with the virus compared to the statewide percentage of 2.5, Inslee said.
The Yakima-Herald Republic wrote Friday about how Virginia Mason Memorial and other hospitals in the county have exceeded staffing capacity. Virginia Mason Memorial had no beds available — intensive care or non-intensive care — available Thursday night, despite transferring more than 17 patients out of the county, the report says.
Inslee said ICU patients are being transferred to Seattle due to lack of capacity.
He said without “dramatic” measures the cases in Yakima County could double in the next two weeks. Inslee said he continues to work with local leaders on other measures to help slow the spread, such as additional testing and making sure contact tracing and isolation practices are adequate.
“We don’t want to see people in parking lots unable to get hospital care, and if we do not act aggressively now that is what’s going to happen,” Inslee said. “This is happening. While I hear some voices saying this is overblown, the facts are otherwise and the desperation faced by families who shortly will be having trouble getting health care is clear.”
PIERCE COUNTY REPORTS 32 NEW CASES
Updated 2 p.m.
Pierce County reported 32 new COVID-19 cases Saturday. No additional deaths were reported.
The county’s totals are now at 2,257 cases and 84 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
There have been 24.7 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department website says. Pierce County has had 223 new cases during that period.
Saturday’s count continues a recent trend of an uptick in daily confirmed cases. There were 25 new cases confirmed Tuesday, 17 confirmed Wednesday, 24 confirmed Thursday and 28 confirmed Friday.
Saturday’s count is the highest one-day total the county has had since May 8.
An update posted to the health department’s site Friday says it is monitoring the recent spike. Pierce County is currently in Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan for the state after reporting an average of 18.3 cases per 100,000 — the requirement is fewer than 25 per 100,000 — when it applied to move forward earlier this month. That average has jumped in the past week.
“We’re watching all of this closely, but it’s still too soon to know for sure what’s causing those increases,” the update says.
“We do know we aren’t seeing large increases in long-term care facilities or congregate care facilities. In fact, we recently tested staff and guests at a large shelter for people living homeless, and all tests were negative.
“In some instances, good news in one area explains what looks like bad news elsewhere. For instance, we are finding more cases now because more people are getting tested. We have more testing resources available community-wide and new testing guidelines. That helps us identify who has the disease so we can limit further spread.”
The percentage of total positive tests remained steady from the county’s Phase 2 approval on June 5 through last week, the update says.
As of Saturday, the county reported an estimated 406 active cases.
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.
There have been 33,417 tests conducted in the county with positive results at 6.7%, according to the state Department of Health.
That total does not include negative tests from long-term care facilities or the 91,000 tests not yet assigned to a county.
“Next week, we will begin our own local reporting of overall negative tests and this number will not include serology tests,” the county health department’s website says. “It’s a part of a Safe Start dashboard we plan to launch on Wednesday.”
Saturday’s geographical case totals are listed below with Friday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 50 (48)
▪ Central Pierce County: 157 (154)
▪ East Pierce County: 60 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 104 (103)
▪ Frederickson: 73 (71)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 58 (no change)
▪ Graham: 71 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 9 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 58 (59)
▪ Lakewood: 235 (232)
▪ Parkland: 132 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 160 (159)
▪ South Hill: 114 (112)
▪ South Pierce County: 44 (43)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 23 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 73 (72)
▪ Tacoma: 736 (721)
▪ University Place: 87 (85)
▪ Unknown: 13 (14)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we are reporting coronavirus numbers
The News Tribune reports confirmed coronavirus cases as listed by the Washington Department of Health and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in their daily updates.
The state total includes all cases submitted by county health departments by 11:59 p.m. the previous day and is updated once a day by 6 p.m. on its website. Its numbers only include the cases the health departments have reported directly to the state. In some cases, county health departments have reported cases publicly but not to the state health department by the daily deadline, leading to different totals on occasion.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department updates its total by 2 p.m. each day on its website, and consists of all new confirmed cases reported by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
HEALTH CARE THE MOST DANGEROUS PROFESSION FOR WASHINGTON WORKERS DURING PANDEMIC
Updated 9 a.m.
A new report released Friday by the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention (SHARP) says health care is the most dangerous profession to be in during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report from SHARP, a collaboration between the state Departments of Health and Labor and Industries, covers 7,316 of the 20,789 cases of COVID-19 reported by May 27.
There were 27,601 reported cases in the state as of Friday.
The data in the report stems from interviews with people who tested positive for COVID-19. About 45% of cases in the state had employment data in the 18-64 years old age range, and the highest number of infections (37%) was among workers in health care and social assistance, the report says.
Manufacturing accounted for 9% of the infections, while retail trade accounted for 8% and accommodation and food services for 7%.
TACOMA-PIERCE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT HIRING COVID-19 INVESTIGATORS
Updated 8:30 a.m.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is hiring temporary members to its Case and Contact Investigation Team during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a series of tweets by the department Friday.
There are both full- and part-time positions available at the department as it continues to try to limit the spread of the virus as Pierce County navigates Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan and beyond.
“You can make $27.68 per hour and help your community heal from the pandemic,” the department tweeted.
The department is particularly seeking qualified bilingual candidates in the community as its data shows the virus “disproportionately affects Asian and Pacific Islanders, Latinx, African-Americans and Native Americans.”
“We are establishing a pipeline of trained personnel to effectively manage current workflow, and ensure we are adequately prepared for unexpected surges,” the job description on the department’s application says.
There are positions available for case and contact investigators, facilities case and contact investigators, administrative support and lab coordinators, the application says.
“You must be willing to work collaboratively and flexibly,” the application says. “You must show professionalism and value serving diverse groups of people as we work towards community healing from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some positions may require a clinical license or certificate or specialized skills.”
A full rundown of requirements for each position is available on the WorkSource Washington website.
STATE REPORTS 409 NEW CASES, 10 DEATHS
Updated 8:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 409 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths Friday.
Statewide totals have reached 27,601 cases and 1,255 deaths, up from 27,192 cases and 1,245 deaths Thursday.
King County has passed 9,000 cases — it was at 9,061 on Friday — and has reached 600 deaths. Yakima County has 5,915 cases and 131 deaths and Snohomish County has 3,208 cases and 162 deaths.
Pierce County reported 28 new cases and one death Friday, bringing its totals to 2,226 cases and 84 deaths.
Nineteen of the state’s 39 counties have reported more than 100 cases, and 11 counties have reported at least 10 virus-related deaths.
Garfield, the state’s least populous county, remains the only county without a reported case. Six other counties are reporting fewer than 10 cases each.
There are 25 cases that have not been assigned to a county.
There were 18 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to state hospitals on June 11, the most recent date with complete data. The total number of people who have been hospitalized in the state stood at 4,003 on Friday.
There have been 455,941 tests conducted in the state with 6.1% coming back positive.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 32 new cases; Inslee to mandate facial coverings in Yakima."
