Pierce County sees 22 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths
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.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee implemented a new mask mandate making masks mandatory in indoor or outdoor public places, with some exceptions, to take effect statewide starting June 26.
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)
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 23, 2020 at 2:19 PM.
