Coronavirus updates: State reaches 18,971 cases; contact tracing capacity expands
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Thursday, May 21.
Updated at 3:20 p.m.
Pierce County will provide local businesses free non-surgical masks and no-touch infrared forehead thermometers to comply with COVID-19 workplace safety practices.
The Pierce County Economic Development is distributing 1 million disposable masks and 20,000 digital thermometers — with a limit of one per business, county spokesperson Emmi Buck said.
The equipment will be distributed June 1-3, and businesses must fill out a form to indicate what personal protective equipment is needed. Approved businesses will learn more details on pick-up locations, Buck said.
The program is funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act federal dollars.
“Due to large volumes and speed required to get these items to the community, the PPE was acquired from China,” Buck said in an email. “PPE requests will be processed in the order they are received and will be fulfilled as long as supplies last.”
All Pierce County private sector businesses, including nonprofits, are welcome to submit a application, Buck said. For more information, contact the Pierce County Economic Development Department at 253-798-6150 or PCBizPPE@piercecountywa.gov.
Pierce County reports 4 new cases
Updated at 3:20 p.m.
Pierce County on Thursday reported just four new COVID-19 cases and one new death.
The county’s totals now stand at 1,833 cases and 72 deaths, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
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.
The new death involved a University Place woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions.
The county’s COVID-19 tracking page estimated the number of still-active confirmed cases at 566 on Wednesday, with 1,267 assumed recovered.
There have been 22,142 coronavirus tests run on Pierce County residents with 7.7 percent of them positive as of May 19, according to state Department of Health data. That total does not include negative tests from long-term care facilities or tests not yet assigned to a county, according to the county health department.
Thursday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 44 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 132 (no change)
▪ East Pierce County: 49 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 87 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 64 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 52 (no change)
▪ Graham: 54 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 46 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 191 (189)
▪ Parkland: 102 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 131 (132)
▪ South Hill: 100 (no change)
▪ South Pierce County: 38 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 21 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 63 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 585 (583)
▪ University Place: 59 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 8 (no change)
Medstar Transportation offering free transport to hospitals to heathcare workers
Updated at 11 a.m.
Medstar Transportation, an on-demand medical transportation company based in Yakima, Wash., is modifying its services to support those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic by offering free transport to and from hospitals to healthcare workers throughout the Tacoma area. Additionally, Medstar has mobilized a dedicated fleet of vehicles to safely transport COVID-19 patients to and from hospitals for a fee.
Healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients in need of transport can quickly reserve a ride with Medstar Transportation by calling 1 (800) 236-2011 or via the GOIN’ smartphone app.
Riders have the option to request a driver on-demand or schedule a ride for a specific time. When reserving a ride via GOIN’, healthcare employees should select “Healthcare Worker” on the payment page to claim their offer for a $1 convenience fee. All Medstar Transportation services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Prior to Washington’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, Medstar primarily helped its clients with non-emergent medical transportation services, including hospital discharge, doctor’s appointments, and ADA paratransit. To support local communities during the crisis, Medstar decided to offer free transit to healthcare workers to aid in the humanitarian effort while making the best use of their fleet during the pandemic.
To protect the health of both passengers and operators, healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients are not transported with the same vehicles or drivers. Additionally, a dedicated fleet is reserved for COVID-19 patients and all vehicles are thoroughly sanitized between use in following U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
Washington DOH expanding contact tracing
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health is rapidly training personnel to support case investigations and contact tracing. As of May 19, 723 National Guard personnel and 769 Department of Licensing personnel have been trained to help local health jurisdictions with this work as needed.
“I’m grateful to the agencies who answered the call to contribute to this important work,” said Governor Jay Inslee. “We are all in this together, and the support from the National Guard and the Department of Licensing affirms that. Rapid work to track and prevent the spread of disease is an important piece of our ability to safely emerge from this pandemic.”
Public health staff interview people who test positive for COVID-19 to identify and contact anyone who may have been exposed while they were contagious. The public’s participation is voluntary. This process ensures everyone who gets or is exposed to the virus has access to information and services to protect themselves and their loved ones.
These personnel supplement roughly 630 local and state public health professionals already available to do this work. The state is also reviewing applications from thousands of volunteers across Washington and finalizing the plan to appropriately screen and train volunteers if needed in the coming months.
“The National Guard is proud to support the voluntary COVID mapping led by the Department of Health,” said Major General Bret D. Daugherty, Washington’s Adjutant General. “Our soldiers and airmen live and work in communities across Washington – they’re your friends and neighbors. I have no doubt they’ll bring their usual high degree of professionalism to this task.”
The increase in people able to do this work supports two key future goals: contact everyone with a positive test result for COVID-19 within 24 hours to determine their close contacts; and contact all close contacts within 48 hours. The public’s participation in these efforts is voluntary.
“Case investigations and contact tracing are key pieces of the effort to keep Washington residents safe,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “Both have been critical tools to suppress the virus in other parts of the world.”
In recent weeks, DOH has strengthened and standardized our case investigation and contact tracing protocols. It is also documenting available resources that may be needed while healthy people who have been exposed to COVID-19 stay home to ensure they do not develop symptoms (quarantine) or stay home to recover from being sick (isolation).
Washington state reports 160 new COVID-19 cases and 6 deaths Wednesday
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 160 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 18,971 cases and 1,037 deaths, up from 18,811 cases and 1,031 deaths on Tuesday.
Pierce County reported 10 new cases and one new death Wednesday.
Hospitalizations for people with COVID-19 continue to decline. On May 10, the most recent date for which data was available, 175 people were hospitalized with the disease. On March 22, 561 coronavirus patients were reported to be in hospitals — the highest number to date.
There have been more than 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 93,439 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday night, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 328,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
No ‘Music in the Park’ free concert series this year, Olympia Downtown Alliance says
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
The Olympia Downtown Alliance has canceled its free “Music in the Park” concert series for this summer, it announced Wednesday, out of concern for public health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
This year would have marked the 41st season for the series, which features free concerts at Sylvester Park and the Port of Olympia’s Port Plaza in July and August. The concerts attract an average of about 700 people, Todd Cutts, executive director of the ODA, told The Olympian Wednesday.
The alliance’s board of directors made its decision after considering the state’s “re-opening orders and timelines” and discussing how to keep the series safe for all involved, according to a news release from the Downtown Alliance.
In Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen the state’s economy, gatherings of 50 or more people are allowed in the fourth, final phase. The timeline for moving from phase to phase is uncertain, but, under the plan, the state will stay in every phase for a minimum of three weeks.
“We want to keep our community, musicians, staff, and volunteers safe during this unprecedented time. The public health risk of hosting a free event is too high,” said Josh Gobel, Olympia Downtown Alliance board president, in a prepared statement.
Cutts said that the board is “exploring alternative ways” to bring the series to the community.
An example of the options being explored, Cutts said, is a series of online music videos from local musicians that Olympia Downtown Alliance, City of Olympia, and Octapas Cafe have partnered to produce. One video for the series has been posted so far, on the Olympia Downtown Alliance YouTube channel, and more are slated to launch there soon.
Retired general to get $20K monthly to advise Pierce County exec on COVID-19 recovery
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
A department of one has been added to Pierce County government to help Executive Bruce Dammeier respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Disaster Recovery Office will bridge the response to the coronavirus across departments and advise the county executive on addressing public health needs while reopening the economy.
On Monday, Dammeier named Dr. Ken Farmer, a retired Army major general and physician, to do the job.
The six-month contract pays $20,000 a month. Farmer’s salary will be covered with money from $15 million FEMA granted the county to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. County Communications Director Libby Catalinich said the salary was negotiated.
Farmer told The News Tribune the role is an advisory one. He will attend various emergency management, finance and health meetings and report back to Dammeier.
“The main goal is to serve as a coordinator and work with a number of other entities to include the health department, the department of emergency management and many others,” Farmer said. “It’s to pull together data and information to advise the county executive on the way ahead, balancing the health needs with reopening the economy and moving on.”
His advice will help Dammeier determine how to allocate $158 million from the federal CARES Act to respond to the pandemic.
Annual Seafair festival in Seattle canceled
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
Organizers of the longtime annual Seafair festival in Seattle have announced its major events will not happen this summer.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding public health safety, and combined with guidance from local and state governments, Seafair is rescheduling its major events to next year,” an announcement on the website said Wednesday.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and July 4 fireworks shows will not happen in 2020. The Blue Angels are confirmed for Aug. 6-8, 2021, organizers said.
Other Seafair canceled events include the July 4th celebration at Gas Works Park and Lake Union Park, the Milk Carton Derby, the Seafair Triathlon, Torchlight Run, Torchlight Parade, and Seafair Weekend Festival.
Organizers say ticket holders for any event will be contacted with an email soon.
Washington sees record unemployment rate of 15.4% in April
Updated at 8:35 a.m.
Washington’s unemployment rate shot up to a record 15.4% in April and the state’s economy lost 527,000 jobs last month as a result of the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s the highest jobless rate the state has seen since it started keeping comparable records in the 1970s.
April’s rate, released Wednesday by the state’s Employment Security Department, is a significant jump from March’s 5.1%, though officials had warned April’s numbers would more truly reflect the widespread closing of restaurants and other businesses that started in mid-March. February’s unemployment rate was 3.8%.
The previous record was 12.2% in November 1982, said Paul Turek, an economist for the department.
“The April jobs report numbers confirm what we already expected based on the record number of individuals who have filed for unemployment benefits since March 7,” Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said in the news release announcing the rate. “These losses are likely to continue into May, with a shift coming the other direction as our economy gradually re-open.”
Washington’s stay-at-home order — in place since March 23 — has been extended through at least May 31. More than 1 million people in the state have filed for unemployment benefits since businesses started closing in March due to COVID-19.
Gov. Jay Inslee has already eased some restrictions across the state, allowing the resumption of existing construction, fishing and golf, and the reopening of most state parks, as well as curbside pickup for retail sales.
Inslee also announced a four-stage reopening plan earlier this month, and has allowed counties with fewer new cases to apply to jump ahead to the second stage, which allows some businesses to reopen, including dine-in restaurants at half capacity. Ten counties have already been approved, and Inslee announced Tuesday that 10 more counties are now eligible to apply.
The national unemployment rate for April was 14.7%, and the rate in the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett region was 14.5%.
Last month, private sector employment decreased by 498,500 while the public sector lost 28,500 jobs. All thirteen industry sectors in the state saw losses last month, with the largest drops seen in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 8:39 AM.
