22 new cases of COVID-19 in Pierce County on Wednesday
Pierce County reported 22 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and no new deaths where COVID-19 was the specific cause.
The county total is now 1,988 cases and 75 deaths, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Five additional deaths have involved patients with COVID-19 but are not counted among the official death toll where the disease has been determined the likely cause. One of the five was cited in Wednesday’s report, a Tacoma man in his 20s with underlying health conditions.
“He had COVID-19 but it was not the cause of death,” according to the health department.
Case and death data can change as new information emerges to correct duplicates, false positives or to assign a case to another county.
Wednesday’s total was a spike from recent days, but Stacy Page, a communications representative for the health department, told The News Tribune late Wednesday that the increased number was because of a data lag in reporting.
Tacoma alone reported 11 new cases.
As part of the Phase 2 application process, Pierce County needs to see fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period.
According to the health department on Wednesday, Pierce County had 18.4 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days —166 new cases in the last 14 days, an average of 11.9 new cases each day.
On Tuesday, state Secretary of Health John Wiesman warned that the large gatherings, including recent protests, raised the risk of additional COVID-19 cases, and called on attendees to “do their best” to maintain social distancing, wear a face covering and practice good hygiene.
“The masks really can help ... This remains an extremely dangerous virus,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in response to questions on the same issue on Wednesday.
The health department estimates that the number of still-active confirmed cases in Pierce County is 410.
Free testing
Kroger, parent company of Fred Meyer and QFC, is continuing its drive-thru testing in Tacoma through the month of June.
The testing, available to patients who qualify via online registration, is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Tacoma Dome from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
You must register online before going. Registration is at thelittleclinic.com/drivethru-testing or by calling 888-852-2567 (select option 3).
The tests are provided at no cost to patients and no insurance is needed.
MultiCare and CHI Franciscan, among other medical providers, also offer COVID-19 testing at sites in the county. Go to tpchd.org/healthy-people/diseases/covid-19/testing-information for a list of locations.
There have been 27,422 coronavirus tests run on Pierce County residents with 7.1 percent of them positive as of June 1, 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.
Care facilities, cases by population
The health department on Wednesdays offers additional case updates.
Hospitalizations were down from the previous week, and the percentage breakdown of deaths since the start of COVID-19 deaths in the county were as follows:
▪ Hospitalized: 64 percent.
▪ Lived or worked in a care facility: 66.7 percent.
▪ Had underlying health conditions: 97.3 percent.
As many as 321 confirmed COVID-19 cases (16 percent of total cases) in Pierce County are health care workers.
This week, the county reported 462 cases at congregate care facilities, up from 459 cases last week. The “Other Facilities” listing includes sites with fewer than 10 cases or fewer than 30 beds. It also includes homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and rehabilitation centers.
Cases at care facilities among residents and staff as of Wednesday are listed with previous week’s totals in parentheses. Newly listed locations will only show one case total:
▪ Heartwood Extended Health Care, Tacoma: 70 (no change)
▪ Alpha Cottages (Gibraltar Assisted Living), Central Pierce County: 36 (no change)
▪ Avamere Puget Sound Transitional Care, Tacoma: 31 (32)
▪ Lindon Grove, Puyallup: 69 (67)
▪ Orchard Park Health and Rehab Center, Tacoma, 22 (no change)
▪ Pioneer Place Memory Haven, Central Pierce County: 15 (no change)
▪ The Cottages at Edgewood, Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 14 (no change)
▪ People’s Retirement Center, Tacoma: 19 (no change)
▪ Other facilities, multiple areas: 186 (184)
Number of cases and deaths in Pierce County by race/ethnicity:
▪ Asian: 105 cases, 2 deaths
▪ Black or African American: 171 cases, 4 deaths
▪ Hispanic: 347 cases, 5 deaths
▪ Multiple race: 18 cases, 0 deaths
▪ Native American/Alaska Native: 28 cases, 1 death
▪ Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 95 cases, 3 deaths
▪ White: 781 cases, 37 deaths
Patients aren’t required to report race/ethnicity, so the data is not a complete reflection of actual numbers. The rates are based on the 77.7% of cases and 69.3% of deaths for which the health department has race/ethnicity data. The full table is updated each Wednesday at tpchd.org/healthy-people/diseases/covid-19-pierce-county-cases/
Wednesday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 48 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 144 (143)
▪ East Pierce County: 58 (56)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 93 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 65 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 54 (55)
▪ Graham: 60 (58)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 50 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 206 (no change)
▪ Parkland: 115 (113)
▪ Puyallup: 143 (141)
▪ South Hill: 105 (no change)
▪ South Pierce County: 38 (37)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 21 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 66 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 639 (628)
▪ University Place: 66 (65)
▪ Unknown: 10 (9)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we are reporting coronavirus numbers
The News Tribune reports confirmed coronavirus cases as listed by the Washington Department of Health and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in their daily updates.
The state total includes all cases submitted by county health departments by 11:59 p.m. the previous day and is updated once a day by 6 p.m. on its website. Its numbers only include the cases the health departments have reported directly to the state. In some cases, county health departments have reported cases publicly but not to the state health department by the daily deadline, leading to different totals on occasion.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department updates its total by 2 p.m. each day on its website, and consists of all new confirmed cases reported by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 3:18 PM.
