Coronavirus updates: State passes 278k cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 2,502 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday and 90 deaths since Friday.
Pierce County reported 143 cases Tuesday and five new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 339 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 278,544 cases and 3,789 deaths. Those numbers are up from 276,042 cases Monday and 3,699 deaths Friday. The case total includes 11,843 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
As of Dec. 24, the date with the most recent complete data, 90 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were admitted to Washington state hospitals.
Preliminary reports indicate average daily hospital admissions were 99 in early January.
Out of the state’s total staffed intensive care unit beds (1,180), approximately 78.4% (925) were occupied by patients Tuesday. Of those staffed ICU beds, 18.3% (216) held suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Dollar General will pay employees to get COVID vaccine, the discount retailer says
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Dollar General says it won’t require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but it will pay those who choose to do so.
The retailer announced the news Wednesday, explaining that it aims to support employees who wish to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“We do not want our employees to have to choose between receiving a vaccine or coming to work, so we are working to remove barriers (e.g., travel time, mileage, child care needs, etc.)...” the company said.
Dollar General says it will offer hourly frontline employees who get the vaccine a one-time payment equivalent to four hours of pay.
Salaried employees will be paid additional store labor hours, the company said.
The discount retailer — which employs more than 157,000 people — said it encourages employees to take the vaccine, but it won’t require them to do so as getting vaccinated is a “personal choice.”
Dollar General joins several companies that have said they want their employees to take the vaccine but won’t require it.
Kroger told the Cincinnati Enquirer it encouraged employees to get the vaccine, repeating the answer when pressed if it would be required in the future.
Communications company Verizon said Monday it has no plans to require employees to get vaccinated. CVS has also said it won’t require employees to get the vaccine, though its pharmacists are eligible to receive them and are doling vaccines out themselves, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In some jurisdictions, grocery store and other retail workers are not yet eligible for the vaccine, with early distributions limited to health care professionals, nursing home residents and older Americans.
COVID fears grow in Capitol as three lawmakers test positive
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Within a span of about 24 hours, three House Democrats announced they tested positive for COVID-19, prompting concern that last week’s insurrection at the Capitol has also turned into a super-spreader event threatening the health of lawmakers and their staffs.
Those who tested positive were among dozens of lawmakers who were whisked to a secure location when pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol on Wednesday. Some members of Congress huddled for hours in the large room, while others were there for a shorter period.
It’s not certain where and when lawmakers caught the illness, but the Capitol’s attending physician notified all House lawmakers of possible virus exposure and urged them to be tested. Dr. Brian Moynihan said members who were in protective isolation last Wednesday “may have been exposed to another occupant with coronavirus infection.”
The three Democratic lawmakers directed their anger toward some House Republicans who were also in the secure room and declined opportunities to wear masks, despite their role in blocking the spread of COVID-19. Video surfaced of multiple Republican lawmakers refusing to wear a mask even when one was offered.
“Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff,” Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., said Tuesday.
Schneider’s comments came a few hours after similar remarks from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash..
“Too many Republicans have refused to take this pandemic and virus seriously, and in doing so, they endanger everyone around them,” Jayapal said. “Only hours after President Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, our country, and our democracy, many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution” and simply wear a mask in a crowded room.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said Monday that she had tested positive for COVID-19.
All three lawmakers are isolating. Schneider said he was not feeling symptoms, while Watson Coleman said she was experience mild, cold-like symptoms. Jayapal did not elaborate on how she was feeling, but noted that she began to quarantine several days ago out of concern about conditions in the secured room.
People flying into US will soon have to provide negative COVID result, CDC says
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that anyone traveling into the U.S. via airplane must provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test to their airline, citing the rise of new coronavirus strains around the world that appear to be more contagious.
The order will become effective on Jan. 26.
Officials say they hope the new testing requirement for air passengers “will help slow the spread of the virus as we work to vaccinate the American public.”
“Testing before and after travel is a critical layer to slow the introduction and spread of COVID-19. This strategy is consistent with the current phase of the pandemic and more efficiently protects the health of Americans,” the CDC said in a statement obtained by McClatchy News.
In addition to a negative COVID-19 test result within three days before an international flight, agency officials say air passengers must get tested again three to five days after arrival in the U.S. and stay home for seven days after travel.
If a passenger has already been infected with COVID-19, they must provide paper or electronic documentation confirming they recovered from the disease to the airline.
“If a passenger does not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery, or chooses not to take a test, the airline must deny boarding to the passenger,” the agency said in the statement.
“Testing does not eliminate all risk,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said, “but when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: State passes 278k cases."
