Coronavirus updates: UW Medicine launches antibody testing; 1 county defies ‘stay home’
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, April 21..
Updated at 3:30 p.m.
Franklin County is back open for business.
The unanimous decision Tuesday by the three county commissioners defies Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order, which is in effect until May 4.
“As far as I’m concerned the county is open, and I’d encourage people within the law and within the parameters of their own safety — we’re adults, we can make decisions — to behave accordingly. That’s what I’m doing,” said Commissioner Brad Peck.
The commissioners, all Republican, decided to reopen their county one month after Inslee, a Democrat, announced the shutdown in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
The three commissioners, along with the Benton County commissioners, make up the governing board of the Benton Franklin Health District.
Health officials reported Tuesday that four people have died in Franklin County from complications of COVID-19 and 35 in Benton County, making the area one of the highest death rates per 1,000 in the state.
Tuesday’s motion was made by Commissioner Clint Didier, whose later announcement on his Facebook page was met with both praise and anger.
Didier said Inslee’s emergency proclamation is unconstitutional, and wrote that the commissioners “support the reopening for all builder [sic] and small business [sic] that want to work.”
A spokeswoman with the governor’s office told the Tri-City Herald that Tuesday’s action is illegal and violates Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order.
“Franklin County commissioners do not have the authority to do this,” said Tara Lee, communications director. “Only the Washington state Supreme Court can declare something unconstitutional.”
Pierce County records 33 new cases
Updated at 3:30 p.m.
Pierce County on Tuesday added 33 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths to its totals, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The county now has 1,219 cases and 36 deaths from COVID-19. The health department reassigned one case and one death to another county.
The three new deaths included a Southwest Pierce County man in his 80s, a Gig Harbor area woman in her 70s and a Spanaway man in his 60s. All had underlying health conditions.
The county has not been reporting test result numbers or rates, previously citing delays with the state data reporting system.
Previous day’s totals are subject to change as case investigations unfold or cases are reassigned to other areas. On some days, the individual counts do not add up to the day’s official total. Smaller towns, such as DuPont and Steilacoom, are not individually listed, according to the health department, to protect patient privacy. The health department only reports cases in geographic areas with populations greater than 20,000 people.
Tuesday’s geographical totals are listed below with Monday’s totals in parenthesis:
▪ Bonney Lake: 32 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 96 (95)
▪ East Pierce County: 36 (35)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 66 (65)
▪ Frederickson: 43 (41)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 50 (no change)
▪ Graham: 39 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 33 (30)
▪ Lakewood: 108 (103)
▪ Parkland: 59 (57)
▪ Puyallup: 58 (no change)
▪ South Hill: 68 (67)
▪ South Pierce County: 23 (22)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 15 (9)
▪ Spanaway: 37 (36)
▪ Tacoma: 406 (402)
▪ University Place: 40 (38)
▪ Unknown: 3 (no change)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
DFI announces student loan relief options
Updated at 12:25 p.m.
Washington State has secured relief options with many private student loan servicers to expand on the protections the federal government granted to federal student loan borrowers, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) announced on Tuesday.
These new options stand to benefit thousands of Washington borrowers with privately held student loans.
The federal CARES Act provided much needed relief for students with federal loans, including the suspension of monthly payments, interest and involuntary collection activity until Sept. 30, 2020. However, the CARES Act left out millions of student loan borrowers with federal loans not owned by the U.S. Government, as well as loans made by private lenders.
Under this new initiative, Washington borrowers with commercially-owned Federal Family Education Program Loans (FFELP) or privately held student loans who are struggling to make their payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for expanded relief.
Borrowers in need of assistance should immediately contact their student loan servicer to learn about the options that are appropriate to their circumstances.
Relief options include:
▪ Providing a minimum of 90 days of forbearance
▪ Waiving late payment fees
▪ Ensuring that no borrower is subject to negative credit reporting
▪ Ceasing debt collection lawsuits for 90 days
▪ Working with borrowers to enroll them in other borrower assistance programs, such as income-based repayment.
To determine the types of federal loans they have and who their servicers are, borrowers can visit the Department of Education’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) at nslds.ed.gov or call the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 or 1-800-730-8913 (TDD). Borrowers with private student loans can check the contact information on their monthly billing statements.
Seattle Sounders FC and Captain Morgan help with local relief
Updated at 10:20 a.m.
As part of MLS Unites, a league-wide platform designed to educate communities, entertain fans and elevate heroic efforts during the pandemic, Sounders FC partner Captain Morgan has pledged a donation of at least $55,000 (US) to RAVE Foundation’s Seattle Sounders FC Relief Fund.
Coinciding with this week’s MLS Unites programming, supporting those in need, the donation to RAVE Foundation’s Seattle Sounders FC Relief Fund is part of Captain Morgan’s initial pledge of $500,000 (US) across the United States and Canada to assist local MLS communities affected by COVID-19.
Captain Morgan is working with each of their nine local club partners, including Seattle, to facilitate a donation of at least $55,000 (US) to a charitable organization of the clubs’ choosing, and Sounders FC is excited to have IRS 501(c)(3) RAVE Foundation and its COVID-19 relief fund be the recipient of the donation.
Each of the charities is focused on providing meals and relief to local COVID-19 frontline workers and community members in need during this difficult time. A full list of the organizations to which their donations are being distributed can be found here.
UW Medicine Viology Lab launches antibody testing
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The UW Medicine Virology Lab launched its COVID-19 antibody testing on Tuesday and has capacity to process thousands of tests each day.
UW is receiving shipments of the Abbott laboratory–based antibody blood test for clinical use. Antibody blood tests are important to check people for past infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19. This particular test looks for the IgG antibody.
Abbott began shipping clinical lab tests April 16. The tests are expected to improve medical understanding of the virus, including how long antibodies stay in the body and if they provide immunity. This knowledge could support the development of treatments and vaccines.
Earlier, the UW Medicine Virology lab helped Abbott evaluate the performance of its viral assays and how best to use them. The widespread use of tests for immunity to the pandemic coronavirus could be vital to the re-opening of businesses and schools and return of workers.
UW Medicine virologists received early access to the assay, and tested it in a large number of blood samples stored for other reasons. They found the assay was highly sensitive for antibodies to SARS-Cov-2 and also highly specific.
Watch for Medicare coronavirus scams
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Medicare enrollees need to stay vigilant against possible scams, including perpetrators emailing or calling seniors and offering coronavirus vaccines.
“Currently, there’s no FDA-approved coronavirus vaccine,” said Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “Beware of anyone who tries to scare you into giving up your Medicare number or bank account information. If you get one of these calls or emails, hang up or delete the email.”
Kreidler’s Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program is also Washington state’s Senior Medicare Patrol project financed through a federal grant. SHIBA staff and volunteers help people prevent, detect and report Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse.
If people on Medicare have questions, concerns or complaints about potential fraud and abuse, they can contact SHIBA online or call 1-800-562-6900 and ask to speak with SHIBA.
Testing sewers will prepare us for future outbreaks, scientists say
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
Scientists in Tacoma believe they’ve found a way to track COVID-19, and the answer lies in the sewer system.
Earlier this month, researchers at biotech nonprofit RAIN Incubator were given permission to test samples of raw sludge at Tacoma’s Central Wastewater Treatment Plant for the virus.
So far, they’ve tested about 40 samples at their lab in downtown Tacoma, and sure enough — COVID-19 was there.
“We found it,” said David Hirschberg, founder of RAIN Incubator. “So Tacoma tests positive for it. It doesn’t mean it’s infectious — it’s likely not. But it means it’s in our system.”
For research scientist Stanley Langevin, the results weren’t exactly surprising. Langevin knew traces of similar respiratory viruses have been found in fecal matter in the past.
“I had a hunch it would be in the sewers if it was frequently transmitted,” he said. “That’s why we looked.”
But proving it has unlocked a powerful tool — not only for tracking hot spots in the community but also as a warning system in the event of another outbreak.
“I have a feeling that as (COVID-19) goes away, it’s going to come back,” Langevin said. “If we can monitor this long term, I hypothesize we’ll be able to pick it up in the sewers before you see it in the hospital — and that is the value of this tool.”
Can’t get through to IRS to ask about coronavirus stimulus? Here’s what to do
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
Are you a Social Security recipient who hasn’t received a payment and is confused about the process? Can’t get anyone at the Internal Revenue Service to help?
The simple answer to getting answers: Contact a tax professional. Contact your local congressman or senator. Access the Internal Revenue Service website.
And most important, “you just have to be patient,” said Janet Holtzblatt, a former Treasury Department official and now senior fellow at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group.
“The good news is if you are eligible for a payment you will get the money,” she said. “It just may not be as speedy as some of the rhetoric says.”
Because of the coronavirus outbreak, and the difficulty of having personal contact either via call centers or taxpayer assistance offices, “The IRS has stopped all face-to-face service nationwide until further notice,” the agency says on its website.
Don’t try to call expecting a staff response. “IRS live phone assistance is not available at this time,” the agency advises, and urges people to go to IRS.gov.
State sues Tacoma apartment complex accused of defying coronavirus eviction orders
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The Washington’s Office of the Attorney General filed a lawsuit Monday against the Tacoma’s Boulders at Puget Sound apartment complex for violating an eviction moratorium put in place during the coronavirus crisis.
It is the first lawsuit brought by the state to defend Gov. Jay Inslee’s order that prohibits landlords from evicting renters for an inability to pay rent and collecting late fees until June 4.
The News Tribune previously reported the Attorney General’s office sent the apartment complex and its corporate holders, JRK Residential Group, a cease-and-desist letter on the eviction notices.
Residents of Boulders at Puget Sound, 2602 Westridge Ave., reported receiving several “pay or vacate” notices on their front doors, in email inboxes and through calls.
The state referred to the notices in a Monday press release, stating the company told residents to use the federal stimulus bill to pay rent. Notices mentioned “everyone would have ample cash to pay necessities like rent.”
The press release also stated the office believes the apartment complex and its parent company violated the governor’s eviction moratorium and the Consumer Protection Act by “engaging in tactics designed to pressure tenants to pay rents that were unreasonable, misleading, misrepresented residents’ rights, and were unfair in light of the ongoing public health and economic emergency.”
Washington opens no-barrier cash assistance for those without access to other programs
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Social and Health Services has opened coronavirus relief funding to people without citizenship status or proof of a Social Security number.
As of Friday, people not eligible for other COVID-19 assistance programs can apply to the Disaster Cash Assistance Program.
Money is available to those who meet income and resource thresholds.
Single individuals can claim up to $383, and the amount increases depending on the household size up to $1,121 for eight or more in a home. Applicants receive a one-time payment in a 12-month period, DSHS spokesperson Norah West said.
The department estimates more than 175,000 households might be eligible.
“Having access to this emergency aid is critically important to helping people meet their immediate, basic needs, like shelter costs, utilities, clothing, minor medical care, household supplies and transportation costs for work,” said Babs Roberts, director of DSHS’ Community Services Division.
Those approved will be issued an Electronic Benefit Transfer card by mail.
People living in Washington can apply online at WashingtonConnection.org and call Customer Service Contact Center at 877-501-2233 to complete the required interview. They also can call the same number and complete the entire application over the phone.
Celebrate National Park Week virtually
Updated at 8:30 a.m.
National park enthusiasts don’t have to miss out on National Park Week (NPW).
Mount Rainier National Park is celebrating NPW through social media — from Junior Ranger Day to Bark Ranger Day, and all the days in between.
“For National Park Week we want to help people “parked” at home,” said Chip Jenkins, the park’s superintendent. “You can still enjoy the icon of the Pacific Northwest, through a virtual visit. There are many options for kids, parents, teachers, people who enjoy scenery, science, and history.”
Explore Mount Rainier National Park through the National Park Week themes:
▪ Saturday, April 18: Junior Ranger Day
▪ Sunday, April 19: Volunteer Day
▪ Monday, April 20: Military Monday
▪ Tuesday, April 21: Transportation Tuesday
▪ Wednesday, April 22: Earth Day
▪ Thursday, April 23: Throwback Thursday
▪ Friday, April 24: Friendship Friday
▪ Saturday, April 25: Park Rx Day
▪ Sunday, April 26: Bark Ranger Day
Follow @MountRainierNPS onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram, and Tumblr to contribute to the celebration.
Join in the conversation and share your favorite Mount Rainier memories, photos, and stories using the hashtags #ShareMyRainier, #FindYourPark and #NationalParkWeek. From April 16 through 26, a special limited-time park ranger emoji will appear with the use of these hashtags, in addition to #FindYourVirtualPark and #EncuentraTuParque on Twitter.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 10:15 AM.
