Coronavirus updates: State reaches 21,349 cases; fraudulent unemployment claims recovered
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Sunday, May 31.
Updated at 4:55 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 353 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths.
Statewide totals are now at 21,702 cases and 1,118 deaths, up from 21,349 cases and 1,118 deaths on Saturday.
King County continues to be the hardest hit with 8,092 cases and 567 deaths. Yakima County has 3,585 cases and 95 deaths while Snohomish County has 2,967 cases and 148 deaths. Pierce County reported 1,947 cases and 73 deaths likely caused by COVID-19.
Garfield County remains the only county in the state without a confirmed case. There are 68 cases that haven’t been assigned a county.
There have been 360,889 tests conducted in the state with 6.0% coming back positive. The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
The total number of people who have been hospitalized in Washington state with a confirmed case of COVID-19 is 3,501. Twenty-three people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on May 23, the most recent date with complete data. March 23 had the highest number of admittances to date with 88.
Pierce County reports 19 new cases
Updated at 2:35 p.m.
Pierce County reported 19 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and no additional deaths.
The county total is now 1,947 cases. There have been 77 deaths of people with COVID-19, and COVID-19 is the likely cause of 73 deaths.
Pierce County has conducted 26,280 tests, according to the Department of Health, with 7.3% coming back positive. Care facility negative tests are unavailable. About 83,000 tests aren’t yet assigned to a county, which means the positive test rate is likely lower.
The county’s data estimates 454 cases are still active.
Case and death data can change as new information emerges to correct duplicates, false positives or assign a case to another county.
Gov. Jay Inslee announced new criteria for Phase 2 effective June 1. A county is eligible to apply for Phase 2 if it meets certain criteria, including:
▪ Fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.
▪ Pierce County had 18.1 new cases per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days. That’s 163 new cases in the last 14 days, an average of 11.6 new cases each day.
▪ Flat or decreasing trends in hospitalizations for COVID-19.
▪ Adequate testing.
▪ Sufficient hospital capacity.
▪ Robust case and contact tracing system.
▪ Low number of outbreaks among vulnerable populations.
County officials have already indicated intent to submit an application to the state Monday to move into Phase 2.
“We’ve been making what I hope is a very compelling case to the governor that the people of Pierce County are ready to responsibly and safely move to Phase 2,” Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier said during Friday’s COVID-19 Business Info Series call.
“We’ve got small businesses, we’ve got families that are hanging on by their fingernails, and I want to make sure we are getting to Phase 2 as quickly as possible.”
The Pierce County Council has a special meeting planned for 10 a.m. Monday.
Sunday’s geographical case totals are listed below with Saturday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 48 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 142 (141)
▪ East Pierce County: 54 (53)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 93 (89)
▪ Frederickson: 65 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 54 (no change)
▪ Graham: 57 (56)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 48 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 205 (202)
▪ Parkland: 110 (108)
▪ Puyallup: 140 (138)
▪ South Hill: 105 (104)
▪ South Pierce County: 37 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 21 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 66 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 623 (619)
▪ University Place: 63 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 9 (no change)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
Tacoma Sister Cities Film Festival canceled
Updated at 12:10 p.m.
The 2020 Tacoma Sister Cities (TSC) Film Festival was canceled Wednesday night after a lengthy postponement.
Originally set for late March, the festival was rescheduled to Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 but now will not be happening at all this year over concerns surrounding the coronavirus and COVID-19.
Clare Petrich, TSC Council chairwoman, said the move was not taken lightly.
“The recommendation from the film festival committee is that we will not honor what we thought would be an August date,” Petrich said. “Never, never canceled it. We’ve had 17 film festivals, and this was the first one.”
The festival would have shown nine films, all selected by committee to reflect each Sister City, over four days at The Blue Mouse in Tacoma.
The tentative plan now is to hold the festival in spring 2021, but that is contingent on whether theaters can reopen by then.
TSC treasurer Bruce Sadler said there wouldn’t be much of a monetary loss, and anyone who has already bought a ticket can get a refund.
Film festival chairwoman Mira Utz said the refunding process is already in motion.
“We just did it through Eventbrite,” Utz said. “I put in for a full refund for everyone that had purchased tickets, and so Eventbrite is supposed to handle all of that now.”
State reaches 21,349 cases
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 278 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths Saturday.
Statewide totals have reached 21,349 cases and 1,118 deaths, up from 21,071 cases and 1,111 deaths Friday.
King County remains the hardest hit with 7,993 cases and 567 deaths, while Yakima County has 3,458 cases and 95 deaths and Snohomish County has 2,956 cases and 148 deaths.
Pierce County reported 12 new cases Saturday, bringing its totals to 1,928 cases and 73 deaths.
Seventeen of the state’s 39 counties have reported more than 100 cases, and 11 counties have reported at least 10 virus-related deaths.
Garfield, the state’s least populous county, remains the only county without a reported case. Seven other counties are reporting fewer than 10 cases each.
There are 61 cases that have not been assigned to a county.
There were 26 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to state hospitals on May 22, the most recent date with complete data. The total number of people who have been hospitalized in the state stood at 3,480 on Saturday.
There have been 354,354 tests conducted in the state with 6% coming back positive.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
Seattle Premium Outlets reopens and launches community support program
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Seattle Premium Outlets announced that it has reopened with approval of the Tulalip Tribe. As part of the reopening process, the property published its comprehensive COVID-19 Exposure Control Policy, developed in conjunction with a team of leading experts in the fields of Epidemiology and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), in order to deliver an elevated set of safety standards at the property.
Seattle Premium Outlets’ enhanced safety protocols have been communicated to all tenants, who are expected to adhere to the same rigorous policies in their tenant spaces. Additionally, the property has joined forces with local non-profits to support initiatives aimed at assisting those in the community experiencing hardship as a result of COVID-19.
“The health, safety and well-being of the community we serve will always be our highest priority, and we have developed a thorough and detailed set of protocols highlighting the exceptional measures we’ve implemented for shoppers, retailers and employees as we reopen,” said Darrick Smale, General Manager at Seattle Premium Outlets.
“We also recognize that individuals and families in our community are suffering significant hardship as a result of both COVID-19 and the economic shutdown, and we believe that reopening our property will not only help people get back to work during these challenging times, but also enable us to use our property to further support charitable initiatives.”
Seattle Premium Outlets closed on March 19 in order to address the spread of COVID-19. Reopening provides a much-needed economic boost to the local community impacted by COVID-19.
Seattle Premium Outlets is an important economic engine for the local community, providing more than 1,100 jobs and contributing $28 million of sales tax and $932,000 in property tax revenue to the state. These tax receipts fund essential services in communities, including education and infrastructure as well as health and safety services.
Washington Recovers $300M in Fraudulent Unemployment Claims
Updated at 8:45 a.m.
Washington state has recovered $300 million paid to criminals who used stolen personal information to file fraudulent unemployment benefit claims amid the COVID-19 crisis, officials said Thursday.
Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said that she could not yet reveal the precise amount that was paid in fraudulent claims, but said that the initial recovery — including $50 million set to be returned Thursday — was a result of the state’s collaboration with federal law enforcement and financial institutions across the country.
“This is a national attack by sophisticated criminals and isn’t just happening to Washington state,” LeVine said.
LeVine first detailed the scope of the fraud last week, saying that the information of tens of thousands of people in the state was used to fraudulently pay hundreds of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits.
Much of it apparently went to a West African fraud ring using identities stolen in prior data breaches, such as the massive 2017 Equifax breach. Washington is one of several states where attacks have been detected, including New Mexico, Michigan and Montana, according to California cyber security firm Agari, which has monitored the Nigerian fraud group, dubbed Scattered Canary.
The fraudsters had money sent to prepaid debit cards associated with bank accounts, from which they have it transferred internationally or quickly exchanged for bitcoin or gift cards, according to Patrick Peterson, chief executive of Agari.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 9:36 AM.
