Coronavirus updates: $45 million raised for state relief fund; Kittitas County approved for Phase 3
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, June 23.
Updated at 2:30 p.m.
Pierce County reported 22 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no additional deaths.
The county’s totals are now at 2,312 cases and 84 deaths since the county’s first case was reported March 6, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Pierce County had 246 new cases in the past 14 days, an average of 17.6 new cases each day. There have been 27.3 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days, according to the health department.
As of Tuesday, the county reported an estimated 437 active cases. The county has faced a string of days with new cases rising into the double-digits. Monday’s report logged six new cases, but the health department attributed that low number to a state data lag.
On Tuesday, the local health department noted the “state reporting system that may still have a data reporting lag.”
The rising levels of reported cases come as the county gears up for considering when to apply for Phase 3 of the state’s Safe Start plan.
Stacy Page, the health department’s lead COVID-19 communications representative, told The News Tribune via email Monday in response to questions, “We are assessing if the overall positivity rate still aligns with where we were when we applied for Phase 2. This is one of the factors we have to consider to determine if we are ready to apply for Phase 3.”
Page noted that while the county has increased testing capacity and contact tracing staff, other factors come into consideration.
“While we want to support more businesses opening, we are concerned about the larger indoor gatherings allowed under Phase 3,” she said.
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.
There have been 35,182 tests conducted in the county with positive results at 6.5 percent, according to the state Department of Health.
Testing is available at various sites in the county, including free drive-thru self-administered testing at the Tacoma Dome, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the end of June. Participants must register in advance either the day before or that day: www.krogerhealth.com/covidtesting or call 888-852-2567 and select Option 3.
Sea Mar Community Health Centers also offer free COVID-19 testing in Tacoma.
Drive-thru and walk-up testing testing are available at Sea Mar Tacoma Medical Center, 1112 S. Cushman Ave. Tacoma. Testing hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. You must call in advance 253-593-2144 to schedule an appointment.
For more information on additional local testing sites, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
Tuesday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 50 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 159 (no change)
▪ East Pierce County: 61 (60)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 105 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 76 (74)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 63 (60)
▪ Graham: 71 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 9 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 62 (60)
▪ Lakewood: 237 (236)
▪ Parkland: 132 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 167 (163)
▪ South Hill: 118 (116)
▪ South Pierce County: 45 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 24 (23)
▪ Spanaway: 77 (76)
▪ Tacoma: 748 (744)
▪ University Place: 94 (93)
▪ Unknown: 14 (13)
$45 million donated to All in WA
Updated at 1:40 p.m.
More than $45 million has been donated toward All In WA’s $65 million goal since the relief effort launched on May 27.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will match individual donations under $1 million to All In WA causes, up to a total of $25 million — making a $100 contribution worth $200 to local and state funds.
All In WA is a coordinated, statewide relief effort launched by nonprofits, community leaders, businesses and philanthropies across the state that support workers and families who have been acutely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
All In WA will help address the needs of a range of causes and communities including those facing food shortages, health disparities, those in need of housing assistance, small businesses, families and children, and essential workers.
To enable localized giving, All In WA is partnering with PowerOf.org, a new tool created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to make it easy to find opportunities to help people and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. PowerOf has customized a page for All In WA so individual donors can easily find the funds supporting the causes and communities they care about.
Donations can be made through the PowerOf tool at AllInWA.org to the All In WA Fund, an aggregate fund that will address funding gaps across the state, or directly to Community funds and Cause-specific funds across Washington, including the Black Future Co-op Fund, a first-of-its-kind fund to support the Black community in Washington state by responding to the disproportionate impacts on COVID-19, increasing resilience to economic and other shocks, and building generational wealth. A full list of participating funds can be found at allinwa.org.
To promote All In WA, there will be a virtual benefit concert on June 24 at 7 p.m.. The concert, All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief by Presenting Sponsor Amazon and Community Leadership Sponsor Microsoft, will feature performances by Pearl Jam, Macklemore, Brandi Carlile, Ciara, Russell Wilson, The Black Tones, Dave Matthews, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Pete Carroll, Mary Lambert, Joel McHale, Ben Gibbard, Allen Stone, Sleater-Kinney, Travis Thompson, Prometheus Brown, The Head and The Heart, Noah Gundersen, Mark Diamond, Jessica Dobson, and more.
The virtual concert will be streamed on the allinwa.org website and air statewide on KING 5 (NBC, Seattle), KONG (Independent, Seattle) KREM (CBS, Spokane), KSKN (CW, Spokane), KVEW/KAPP, and KGW Portland Subchannel 8.2 (Justice Network). Immediately following the live stream, a recording of the concert will be available on Prime Video. KEXP will be a radio media sponsor.
To contribute to the All In WA Fund or directly to Cause and Community funds, visit www.allinWA.org.
Kittitas County approved for Phase 3
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved Kittitas County to move to Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan.
A total of three counties are in Phase 1, two counties are in a modified version of Phase 1, 18 counties are in Phase 2 and 16 counties are in Phase 3.
Kitsap and Thurston counties have applied to move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, and Cowlitz and Walla Walla have applied to move from Phase 2 to a modified version of Phase 3. Benton and Franklin counties have applied to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2, and their applications are currently on pause. The department is working with local officials to discuss next steps.
Businesses approved to move into a new phase must comply with all health and safety requirements outlined in the guidance to reopen.
On May 29, Inslee, in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, established a data-driven approach to reopen Washington and modify social and recreational activities while minimizing the health impacts of COVID-19. Washington will move through the phased reopening county-by-county, allowing for flexibility and local control to address COVID-19 activity geographically.
This approach reduces the risk of COVID-19 to Washington’s most vulnerable populations and preserves capacity in our health care system, while safely opening up businesses and resuming gatherings, travel, shopping and recreation. The plan allows counties and the secretary of health to holistically review COVID-19 activity and the ability for the county to respond when determining if a county is ready to move into a new phase.
Inslee announces face coverings will be required in public spaces in Yakima
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
In response to “an imminent explosion of the COVID pandemic” in Yakima County, Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Saturday that he will be issuing a proclamation early this week that will require people in public spaces in Yakima County to wear face coverings.
Yakima Valley has the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 on the West Coast and the county has 22 percent of the state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations. Inslee said Yakima County’s case count is higher than the entire state of Oregon, and without immediate action case counts could double in the next two weeks.
You can view the press conference on TVW.
The governor is scheduled to hold another press conference on Tuesday at 3 p.m. The press conference will be livestreamed by TVW. The Joint Information Center’s regularly scheduled Tuesday briefing at 2:30 p.m. will be canceled to accommodate the governor’s schedule.
Seattle hospital confirms virus cases among operating staff
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
A Seattle hospital said four staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19 work in or near the facility’s operating rooms.
A spokesperson for Virginia Mason Medical Center confirmed the positive tests occurred within the last week, The Seattle Times reported Sunday.
After three employees tested positive for the coronavirus, surveillance testing of more than 650 other staff members discovered one additional employee had developed COVID-19.
Media-relations Manager Gale Robinette said in a statement that each staff member who tested positive has been treated and will remain at home for at least two weeks in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.
“We have not identified any risk of exposure to patients, as these team members were always wearing appropriate personal protective equipment while in their presence,” Robinette said.
Robinette did not respond to questions concerning the number of patients those staff members came in contact with or whether the patients would be notified and tested.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department hiring for COVID-19 contact tracers
Updated at 8:50 a.m.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department wants to fill 45 positions in its coronavirus case-and-contact investigation team.
Health department spokesperson Stacy Page told The News Tribune the existing 35-person staff is adequate for the current caseload. The new positions would help with a potential surge.
“Advertising for more contact tracers is part of our plan to establish the pipeline of contact tracers for surge capacity,” Page said in an email. “It’s unrelated to the slight uptick we’ve experienced in cases in recent days.”
Pierce County’s positive cases have seen a slow rise in the past two weeks. Saturday’s count of 33 new positive COVID-19 cases is the highest single-day total since May 8.
The health department announced Friday afternoon that the positions pay $27.68 per hour. Applicants should have a high school education level. Some positions may require a clinical license or specialized skills.
The positions are listed as lasting for between four and 150 days to fill temporary and full-time jobs.
The posting at WorkSource includes four options: case-and-contact investigators, facilities case-and-contact investigators, administrative support and lab coordinators.
The health department did not say how many positions are open in each of the four roles but added: “All 45 positions will support investigations work.”
The facility case-and-contact investigator job description includes navigating complex case investigation and contact tracing within health care facilities, knowing sanitation standards and medical laws, and presenting findings that are consistent with the state Department of Health’s standards. Candidates are required to have a medical license or certificate.
This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: $45 million raised for state relief fund; Kittitas County approved for Phase 3."
