Pierce County reports 28 new COVID-19 cases, one new death
Pierce County reported 28 new COVID-19 cases Friday and one additional death.
The new death involved a University Place woman in her 90s with underlying health conditions.
The county’s totals are now at 2,226 cases and 84 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
There have been 23.2 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department website says. Pierce County has had 209 new cases during that period.
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.
As of Friday, the county reported an estimated 388 active cases.
Friday’s total comes after a string of days with double-digit new cases added, a sharp departure from days last week when the totals dipped into single digits.
On Thursday, health department director Anthony Chen noted on Twitter that the recent uptick was “worrisome.”
Stacy Page, who leads the department’s COVID-19 communications, told The News Tribune via email Friday it still was too soon “to identify with certainty the cause of these increases.”
“We aren’t seeing large increases from cases in long-term care facilities or congregate care facilities,” Page said. “In fact, we recently tested staff and guests at a large shelter for people living homeless, and all tests were negative.”
The uptick brings into question how ready Pierce County is to make the move into Phase 3 in Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan, which could be applied for this month.
“More testing is helping us identify who has the disease, so we can limit further spread,” Page wrote. “We are assessing if the overall positivity rate still aligns with where we were when we applied for Phase 2.”
The local health department next week will begin its own reporting of overall negative tests, not including serology tests — those conducted after an illness to see whether someone has the antibodies for COVID-19.
“We are looking at our overall rate of cases and other factors to determine when we will be ready to apply for Phase 3,” she wrote. “We have increased our testing capacity and contact tracing staff, which are two other essential elements of Phase 3 readiness.”
There have been 32,959 tests conducted in the county with positive results at 6.7%, according to the state Department of Health.
This week, the state DOH corrected its negative test reporting to exclude serology (antibody) testing results. About 86,000 negative tests statewide have not yet been assigned to a county.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. For more information, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
Page noted everyone needs to continue doing their part to stop the spread.
“It’s important for all of us to follow current Phase 2 guidance and stay focused on reducing the risk of spreading the disease in our community. Wear a cloth face covering that covers your nose and mouth when you can’t reasonably stay six feet or more away from others,” Page said. “Those who are in high risk groups, such as those over 65 and those with compromised immune systems and chronic underlying health conditions, should continue to stay home to stay healthy.”
Friday’s geographical case totals are listed below with Thursday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 48 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 154 (152)
▪ East Pierce County: 60 (59)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 103 (101)
▪ Frederickson: 71 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 58 (56)
▪ Graham: 71 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 9 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 59 (57)
▪ Lakewood: 232 (228)
▪ Parkland: 132 (130)
▪ Puyallup: 159 (no change)
▪ South Hill: 112 (111)
▪ South Pierce County: 43 (42)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 23 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 72 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 721 (713)
▪ University Place: 85 (84)
▪ Unknown: 14 (13)
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.
