Coronavirus death toll up to 6 in Washington. Shortages of mask, sanitizer reported
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There are currently no publicly reported cases of COVID-19, or coronavirus, in Pierce County, but King County identified more positive cases Monday.
Washington has seen 18 confirmed cases, six of which have died, state health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy said during a news conference in Seattle on Monday.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department told The News Tribune the agency is monitoring “a number” of cases.
There are people who are under public health supervision, health department spokesperson Steve Metcalf said. Those who might have been possibly exposed are self-monitoring, staying at home and checking in with the department regularly for 14 days, he said.
Puyallup School District shut down two schools after a family’s relative experienced “flu-like symptoms.” The schools were closed Monday for cleaning, the district announced.
King County will buy a motel as a “virus shelter” for those sick to be isolated, County Executive Dow Constantine announced in a news conference.
“The acquisition is expected to be finalized in a matter of days and available to Public Health by the end of the week,” a Seattle-King County Health Department press release stated. “Location details will be made available when the transaction is complete.”
Dr. Anthony Chen, Director of the TPCHD, said the department is not calling for school closures, working from home or canceling public gatherings because conditions in Pierce County are not that severe. He doesn’t want people to panic.
“As we go forward, we are going to take the right steps at the right time,” Chen told The News Tribune. “If things change, we may be recommending things. We are assessing the severity of the situation and then going from there.”
Known WA cases
The Puget Sound has seen 14 confirmed cases, Lofy said at the Monday news conference.
Four of the six fatal cases stemmed from Life Care, a nursing facility in Kirkland. All the Washington deaths have occurred at EvergreenHealth Hospital in Kirkland.
Washington saw the first COVID-19-related death in the states.
“This is a complicated and unprecedented challenge,” Jeff Duchin of Public Health — Seattle and King County said at the news conference. “We are going to see a tremendous amount of sick people.”
Most of the cases will be mild to moderate, much like the flu, Duchin told reporters Monday.
Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
Seventeen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees have arrived in Washington to assist and plan for the weeks ahead, Duchin said.
More local labs have now been equipped to test for the virus. The University of Washington is expected to begin lab testing this week. Lofy said the state lab can test 200 specimens a day.
Snohomish County saw the first case in the U.S. on Jan. 21, when a man in his 30s became sick with the virus. He had traveled recently from Wuhan. Health officials announced he had recovered.
If you think you’re sick
The CDC recommends those who believe they are sick and might have been exposed to use face masks.
“It’s a way of keeping germs from spreading to others,” Metcalf said.
Health officials ask those who are experiencing symptoms to avoid the emergency room unless it is essential. Those with a cough, fever, or other respiratory problems should head to their primary care doctors first, Chen said.
“We don’t need worried people packing the emergency room,” Chen said.
Metcalf also said people with symptoms should call physicians first before arriving at the hospital or private practices, so healthcare providers can prepare.
Proactive measures
Wearing a face mask is probably not an effective way to protect yourself against the virus, the Metcalf said.
The TPCHD recommends residents do the following to protect themselves:
▪ Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
▪ Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
▪ Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
▪ Cover mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and follow up with hand washing
▪ Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces.
There are more common respiratory illnesses in the county. This flu season, 10 adults and two children have died in the county from flu-related complications, the health department’s site said.
“The flu vaccine is your best protection against the flu,” the site said.
The health department recommends having a plan in place, including extra supplies like food and crucial medicine to stay home for an extended time. It’s also important for parents to prepare for school or childcare facility to be temporarily dismissed.
The state has set up a COVID-19 hotline number for those with questions or concerns: 1-800-525-0127.
$100 million needed for coronavirus response
The state Health Department on Monday asked the Legislature for $100 million to respond to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Future costs are a bit difficult to predict,” said state Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “One, we don’t know the length of this response and how long this is going to take.”
Wiesman’s request came as public health officials announced that the number of COVID-19 cases has reached 18, including five deaths in King County and one in Snohomish County.
There are 231 people who are under public health supervision that travelled from countries where the coronavirus was first present.
“Local public health folks are monitoring those folks for any symptoms,” he said.
Wiesman said the state public health laboratory began testing for coronavirus last Friday.
“The good news here is that we are able to get results now essentially in one day. That’s incredibly important and helpful as we do our outbreak investigations so we can have the quickest information about what the situation is,” he said.
Repercussions of concern
Blood banks are concerned that the health scare will slow donations. Bloodworks Northwest is reassuring the community that it is safe to donate blood and donations are needed. Donated blood is screened and donors are asked about illness and travel.
There have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted coronavirus or respiratory viruses, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
“We can’t allow what’s happening to blood inventories in other countries affected by COVID-19, where they’re seeing sharp declines in donation, to happen here,” Bloodbanks CEO Curt Bailey said.
The blood bank has donor centers in Bellingham, Federal Way and Olympia.
Masks, hand sanitizer in short supply
After a busy weekend of shoppers stocking up on hand sanitizer and masks, several Whatcom County stores were in short supply or sold out of both.
Visits to several Bellingham stores and pharmacies found they were out of stock of those products as well as digital thermometers on Monday morning, March 2. This came about as residents spent the past week preparing for the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
Stores including the Bakerview Fred Meyer did have some of the disinfecting wipes and Lysol spray, as well as some of the alcohol wipe products and cold prevention products. It looked like a typical busy day at the Bellingham Costco after it opened on Monday morning, although there were a few customers who chose to wear masks.
Doctors and health officials are saying frequent hand-washing and avoiding touching your face are the most effective ways to protect yourself from the coronavirus. They are also urging people not to buy masks unless they are already sick or a health-care worker.
That hasn’t slowed down the inquiries at stores or pharmacies, though. Kendra Van Den Top, a pharmacist at Hoagland Pharmacy, said they’ve had an uptick in calls and visits from people inquiring about masks and hand sanitizer. The masks they had in stock sold out a couple weeks ago and she wasn’t sure when they would get more.
Choices Medical Equipment & Supplies, which is closed on weekends, did have some masks and hand sanitizer products left on Monday morning but expected to be sold out later in the day. Amanda Dykstra, a manager at the Bakerview Square store, said they’ve had a big increase in calls and visits from customers in the past week.
Oregon casino closes
A person who works at Wildhorse Resort and Casino just east of Pendleton is believed to have coronavirus.
The casino was expected to temporarily close for sanitization starting at noon Monday.
The person also attended a youth basketball game Saturday in the small Oregon town of Weston.
The adult, who lives in Umatilla County, is now hospitalized in Walla Walla for treatment of coronavirus.
It is now the third presumptive positive case of COVID-19 among Oregon residents, according to Oregon health officials.
The gender of the patient was not released in a news release from the Oregon Health Authority.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which owns the casino, has canceled all community event on its reservation through Saturday.
It also was closing its Nixyaawii Community School, Head Start, daycare and senior center until their facilities can be fully sanitized.
“State and local health officials are moving quickly to contact people who may have been in close contact with the individual who tested as a presumptive positive case,” according to a statement from the Oregon Health Authority.
“The third case is not linked to travel to a part of the world with known cases of COVID-19,” it said. “It is considered a case of community transmission.”
The infected person was at a game Saturday in the Weston Middle School gymnasium in Weston, Oregon.
“This was not a school event, it was community use of the gym,” the Athena-Weston School District posted on its website.
Weston is 60 miles from Pasco, and just south of Milton-Freewater. The town’s population is about 650.
WA governor: Maybe cancel large gatherings
Gov. Jay Inslee said Washington residents need to think about avoiding large events or assemblies.
“We are not making a request formally right now for events to be canceled, but people should be prepared for that possibility. As this situation develops, what people are likely to see is local officials, county health, and school districts responding to this. I also have emergency authority in this regard,” he said at a press conference.
Inslee spoke Monday after the death toll from coronavirus officially reached six in Washington.
On Monday morning, the state Health Department asked the Legislature for $100 million to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. “We want to mount a response that is the right response for Washington and one where I am not worried about, ‘do I have the money to actually mount the response that we need?’” said state Secretary of Health John Wiesman.
On Saturday, Public Health-Seattle & King County announced an individual died from the coronavirus virus, the first in the United States.
Inslee declared a state of emergency, directing state agencies to use all resources necessary to prepare for and respond to the outbreak.
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Coronavirus death toll up to 6 in Washington. Shortages of mask, sanitizer reported."
