Coronavirus updates: More than 30 test positive at Western State Hospital
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Wednesday, April 16.
Updated at 3:00 p.m.
Pierce County on Wednesday added 23 new COVID-19 and one new death to its case totals.
The county now has 1,022 total cases and 24 total deaths, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The new death involved a woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions from the Edgewood/Fife/Milton area.
The total comes after a reassignment of cases among counties.
On Wednesday, the health department announced it would start to include more demographic and hospitalization information on its site, updating those numbers each Wednesday moving forward. It announced the changes on its blog.
Wednesday’s total showed the percentage of cases by race, but offered several caveats to the data:
“Patients aren’t required to report race/ethnicity, so this data is not a complete picture. We don’t know what testing rates are for each group. Differing testing rates could greatly affect the rate of confirmed cases. Three groups — black or African American, Hispanic and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander — appear to be affected at higher rates.”
The breakdown was a follows, with the percentage of confirmed cases among the county’s case total followed by each group’s percentage of Pierce County population:
▪ Asian: 8.9 percent, 7 percent
▪ Black or African-American: 11.2 percent, 7 percent
▪ Hispanic: 14.7 percent, 11 percent
▪ Multiple race: 1.1 percent, 7 percent
▪ Native American/Alaska Native: 1.5 percent, 1 percent
▪ Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 4.6 percent, 2 percent
▪ White: 58 percent, 66 percent
For the hospitalization data, it showed that cases of COVID-19 hospitalization in Pierce County for the week of April 5 were down to 27, from a peak so far of 64 the week of March 29.
Daily case totals can change as the county receives new information about cases, finds duplicate data or is assigned cases that were originally attributed to other counties.
The county is still not reporting testing totals, citing delays in state data reporting. The health department has released a statement on delays in data posting.
Wednesday’s geographical totals are listed below with Tuesday’s numbers in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 28 (27)
▪ Central Pierce County: 60 (59)
▪ East Pierce County: 32 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 55 (54)
▪ Frederickson: 35 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 48 (47)
▪ Graham: 35 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 6 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 23 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 80 (77)
▪ Parkland: 51 (48)
▪ Puyallup: 49 (no change)
▪ South Hill: 62 (60)
▪ South Pierce County: 20 (19)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 8 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 32 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 360 (351)
▪ University Place: 36 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 2 (no change
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
Local nonprofits create a Pierce County fund
Updated at 1:30 p.m.
Local nonprofits joined together to create a Pierce County fund of more that $5.1 million for needs in the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
United Way of Pierce County and Greater Tacoma Community Foundation partnered to help the homeless, those with food insecurity, those experiencing domestic violence, communities of color, those with behavioral health needs or disabilities, and senior citizens.
Megan Sukys, vice president for the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, said the two nonprofits created the fund when they realized the coronavirus was going to be big after the schools closed.
Pierce County Connected began with $750,000 from the two founding organizations. The nonprofits contacted local philanthropists and business, and the amount quickly grew.
Funding goes to community-based entities directly supporting local residents and families who are most affected by emerging health, economic, and social impacts. Funds will not be distributed to individuals. in the community.
While federal, state and local governments have passed emergency legislation to help alleviate the financial impacts of the coronavirus, Sukys said Pierce County Connected provides rapid response funding while those without incomes, shelter or food wait for government help to arrive.
The Salvation Army and LCPHSS to open emergency shelter
Updated at 11:20 a.m.
The Salvation Army and Lewis County Public Health & Social Services (LCPHSS) will open an emergency homeless shelter at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds in Chehalis, LCPHSS announced Tuesday.
The shelter, inside the Blue Gate off South Gold Street, will provide beds for up to 50 people during the COVID-19 outbreak starting Wednesday, according to a county press release.
The beds are available by appointment only can be booked through Coordinated Entry by calling 360-736-5140. Some services will also be available during the day, according to the county.
“It is critical that persons without a home can seek shelter during the COVID-19 outbreak,” LCPHSS Housing Coordinator Meja Handlen said in a prepared statement. “The Salvation Army shelter project expands the county’s capacity to serve those individuals and help stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Funding for the shelter will come from a state Department of Commerce emergency housing grant, according to the county press release. The Olympian reached out to the county to ask how much it will cost and will update this story if and when it receives an answer.
As of Tuesday, LCPHSS had reported 19 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lewis County residents, with two deaths.
More than 30 test positive at Western State Hospital
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The number of staff at a Washington state psychiatric hospital who have tested positive for the new coronavirus increased in April, but only two patients have been tested this month, despite recommendations from health officials.
At least 27 workers at Western State Hospital have the disease, while six patients have tested positive so far and one died. The facility is home to 735 patients and 17 were recently moved to group or family homes to ease the pressure from the COVID-19 outbreak, officials said.
When the COVID-19 hit the facility toward the end of March, they sought help from the state health department. At that time 17 workers and six patients had the disease. State epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist toured the facility and made a list of recommendations, including testing the staff and patients on certain wards.
As of Tuesday, only two patients had been tested this month, according to Kelly Von Holtz, spokesperson for the Department of Social and Health Services. She said the low number was because few had shown any symptoms, but Lindquist said testing should be happening and any new positive patients should be isolated.
“Due to widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in Washington, it is very likely that some staff were infected in the community, worked while infectious, and were a source of infection to patients and other staff people,” he said in his letter to hospital officials.
All staff on a ward that had eight cases should be tested and patients on another ward that had a positive case should also be tested, he said. Holtz said there are 28 patients on ward S-7. A note to staff said the patients had previously been tested and their incubation period was ending on Wednesday.
“A single new case in a patient on any ward should be considered a new ‘outbreak’ and be attributed to staff transmitting to patients,” he said. “At that time, all patients should on the affected ward be tested and mask all staff. Please be aware that this recommendation may change going forward.”
Workers say the testing process for staff has been problematic. Maria Claudio, a psychiatric social worker, said the numbers aren’t adding up. Out of 414 tests, six workers were positive and 39 were rejected and have to be retested, according to a note sent to staff.
“The validity of the testing is questionable,” she said. “We’re likely getting false negatives.”
Justin Lee, a spokesman for the union that represents hospital employees, said staff were initially told that they would be tested in a drive-through, but instead they gathered workers in a small room where they were tested simultaneously. One worker said someone sneezed on her during the process.
The health department’s recommendations said staff should test themselves using a new protocol for collecting samples.
Western State Hospital taking steps to limit spread of outbreak
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently visited Western State Hospital to assist with cases of COVID-19 among patients and staff there and says the hospital has taken effective measures to prevent what could have been a much larger outbreak.
DOH’s healthcare-associated infections team visited Western State in early April to assess the COVID-19 situation. The goal of the visit was to assess what had already been done and offer recommendations on infection prevention going forward.
DOH says the following actions implemented early at Western State Hospital helped contain what had the potential to be a fast and sweeping outbreak:
▪ Educating staff about COVID-19, how to prevent it, appropriate PPE use, cleaning and disinfection, and hand hygiene.
▪ Restricting visitors as of March 16, 2020.
▪ Restricting recreation time out doors to only one ward at a time on 3/16/20 to minimize contact between patients from different wards.
▪ Screening all persons entering the campus for symptoms of COVID-19 starting on March 20, 2020.
▪ Screening patients for symptoms once a shift.
▪ Encouraging social distancing as much as possible.
Recommendations shared in a letter from DOH to the infection prevention specialist at WSH include:
▪ Masking all staff on wards with infected patients.
▪ Assigning staff to a single ward in order to minimize potential of transmission between different ward cohorts.
▪ Treating a single new case in a patient on any ward as a new “outbreak” and be attributed to staff transmitting to patients.
▪ Placing patients with new symptoms who are tested for COVID-19 in isolation until results are known.
▪ Allow staff to use homemade or store-bought non-medical face coverings to prevent transmission from staff to patients because of a shortage in medical facemasks.
“The outbreak of COVID-19 at Western State Hospital is serious,” said State Epidemiologist Scott Lindquist, “but because of the proactive work of staff onsite, and the early adoption of infection control practices, their outcomes have the potential to be less damaging to patients, staff, and the community.”
“The health and safety of patients and residents at our 24/7 facilities is paramount. We are also extremely focused on the well-being of the unsung heroes … our staff at these facilities who are caring for our clients,” said Sean Murphy, DSHS Assistant Secretary for the Behavioral Health Administration.
“This is a challenging time and the situation with this virus seems to change minute by minute. We appreciate the Department of Health assisting us on knowing what we can do better to help our fight against the spread of COVID-19 at Western State Hospital, as well as their feedback on what we are doing right.”
As the outbreak continues to evolve, teams from DOH will be in regular contact with the infection prevention staff.
Washington state reports 156 new COVID-19 cases, 25 deaths
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday reported 156 new COVID-19 cases and 25 additional deaths.
That brings the state totals to 10,694 cases and 541 deaths, up from 10,538 cases and 516 deaths on Monday.
King County continues to be the hardest hit with 4,612 cases and 303 deaths. Snohomish County has 1,916 cases and 77 deaths while Pierce County reported a total of 1,000 and 23 deaths on its website.
Garfield County remains the only county in the state without a recorded case. There are 383 cases that haven’t been assigned a county.
After making modifications to its data system, the DOH is now able to report negative testing results for the first time since April 3. Positive and negative testing results have been updated back through April 4. There have been 122,854 tests given in the state with 112,160, or 91%, coming back negative.
The DOH also provided an update on changing case counts.
“Many lab reports originally come in with an unassigned county and are counted as cases,” the DOH said in a statement on its website. “We have been working to improve the quality of our address information and as we have done this, a number of cases have been determined to be out of state. These are no longer counted as Washington State cases and have been removed from our case counts.
Metro Parks Tacoma issues furlough notices to 85 employees, projects $13M revenue loss
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
Metro Parks Tacoma issued furlough notices to 85 full-time employees on Tuesday due to impacts of shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Metro Parks is facing an estimated $13 million loss over the next six months in fees, sales and property taxes, it said in a press release. The financial impact will last “well into the summer and beyond,” according to the agency.
The furloughed employees are from every department, said spokesperson Hunter George. The notices identify June 30 as an anticipated return date. Some could possibly return earlier.
Metro Parks is working with IUOE Local 302 over a request to furlough 64 members of the union. If approved by the union, total furloughed staff would climb to 149.
The announcement comes two weeks after Metro Parks laid off 520 seasonal and part-time workers.
“It is heartbreaking to furlough staff whose unwavering passion helps our agency operate at the highest levels,” executive director Shon Sylvia said in the press release. “After extensive research into state and federal assistance, this furlough plan is designed to preserve income and benefits while allowing us to keep enough staff on hand to manage essential functions during the closures. We will get through this, and our talented staff will return to do great work for the community.”
Metro Parks also is addressing its budget shortfall by reducing non-essential utilities, using funding from reserves, leaving vacancies unfilled, deferring or reducing contracts for service and reducing pay for executives and senior managers.
The combined efforts are projected to save $7.5 million, just over half of the estimated revenue shortfall, according to Metro Parks.
Inslee signs proclamations protecting stimulus checks, extending statute of limitations
Updated at 8:30 a.m
In a sign of the sweeping power he’s wielding during the new coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed an emergency proclamation that suspends statutes of limitations for all crimes.
The proclamation also waives the one-year limit on raising post-conviction challenges in criminal convictions.
The goal is to give prosecutors more time to file criminal charges, and preserve the right of those convicted of crimes to challenge those convictions in court, the governor’s office said.
Inslee also signed a proclamation to help commercial truck drivers keep supplies flowing to stores.
The proclamation waives certain state laws for renewing or extending commercial driver licenses and commercial learner permits. It’s consistent with federal statutes that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has waived, the governor’s office said.
Also, Inslee signed a proclamation to protect consumer assets, including federal stimulus checks, from consumer debt collections.
The order suspends state laws that permit collection of consumer debt judgments, including bank account and wage garnishments, and waives accrual of post-judgment interest on consumer debt judgments.
State orders Tacoma apartment complex to stop eviction notices
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
A Tacoma apartment complex has been ordered by the Washington Office Attorney General’s Office to cease and desist eviction notices.
Boulders at Puget Sound at 2602 Westridge Ave. W. has been sending emails, calling and posting notices to doors stating that residents need to pay rent or vacate despite Gov. Jay Inslee’s moratorium that temporarily prohibited landlords from evicting renters because they cannot pay rent until April 17.
Landlords also cannot add late penalties for not paying rent on time.
The Attorney General’s Office provided The News Tribune with a copy of the letter sent Monday to Boulders at Puget Sound and the parent company, JRK Holding Partners.
The letter states Boulders at Puget Sound violated the eviction order by serving notices and taking actions in the eviction process with 14-day pay-or-vacate notices.
The letter also said JRK Property Holdings placed “unfair and deceptive pressure on tenants to pay rent” by telling residents to pay rent as quickly as possible to allow the property company “to support your less fortunate neighbors who are directly battling COVID-19.”
The apartment complex referred all comment to JRK Holding Partners. The phone numbers provided and those listed on the company site are non-operable, and Boulders at Puget Sound did not provide another way to contact the corporation. An email was sent to the JRK Holding Partners’ general inquiries account, but there was no immediate response.
Boulders at Puget Sound is one of several landlords sending eviction notices, according to the Attorney General’s Office. As of Monday, the office had received 403 eviction complaints from renters and contacted 168 landlords over the complaints.
Prepare yourself for the COVID-19 ‘new normal,’ says state health chief
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
If you think the new coronavirus outbreak in Washington state will end on a certain date with celebrations like the end of a world war, think again.
The life we knew before COVID-19 won’t return for “many, many months and until we probably have a vaccine,” state Secretary of Health John Wiesman said Tuesday.
Prepare for moving into a “new normal” because the virus won’t be stopped or contained until treatments and a vaccine are developed, he said at a press briefing. It’s unclear when that will happen. Research is under way on more than 140 experimental drug treatments and vaccines.
Wiesman said people still will have to maintain social distancing, defined as staying at least 6 feet apart from each other. If they can’t do that at work, people will wear masks. Employers will screen for symptoms. Tele-working will remain an option.
Video or phone conference calls will continue to replace face-to-face meetings. Environmental cleaning of businesses will be needed.
Large gatherings of people won’t be held “in the near future,” said Wiesman, adding that customs such as shaking hands won’t be OK for some time.
“We’re not going to be able to return to sort of daily activity, living the way people knew that. It’s going to be a new normal, one that is much more aware of safety and biosecurity of each of us,” he said.
This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 8:43 AM.
