Coronavirus updates: State passes 48K cases; judge upholds farm housing rules
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, July 21.
Updated at 7:25 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday reported 832 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths.
Pierce County reported 86 new cases Tuesday and one new death. Pierce County had a total of 104 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 48,575 cases and 1,465 deaths, up from 47,743 cases and 1,453 deaths on Monday.
Fifty-one people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Monday, July 13, the most recent date with complete data. It’s the highest one-day total since April 10. The current seven-day rolling average for admittances is 37, the highest since April 25.
March 23 saw 89 people admitted, the highest number to date during the pandemic.
Washington state has conducted 841,184 coronavirus tests. On July 13, the most recent date for which data is complete, a record high of 18,943 specimens were collected statewide, with 5.4% testing positive. That compares with 6,417 specimens and a 3.1% positive rate on June 13; 4,862 specimens and a 6.3% positive rate on May 13; and 4,185 specimens and an 8.9% positive rate on April 13.
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.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 13,450 cases and 638 deaths. Yakima County has the second-highest numbers, with 9,261 cases and 194 deaths.
All counties in Washington are now reporting cases. Four of them have case counts of less than 10.
There had been more than 3.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 141,883 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 613,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Pierce County reports 86 new cases
Updated at 7:25 p.m.
Pierce County on Tuesday reported 86 new COVID-19 cases and one new death.
County totals are now 3,912 cases and 104 deaths since the first case in the pandemic was recorded March 6.
The death reported Tuesday was of a man in his 80s from East Pierce County with underlying health conditions.
The Tacoma Pierce-County Health Department has reported 1,027 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 113.9. The average cases per day over the last 14 days is 73.4.
The county estimates 1,587 still-active cases as of July 20.
Pierce County has experienced record case numbers in recent days, with more than 100 new cases reported Saturday and nearly 100 on Sunday.
The health department said in a release that clusters of cases are appearing throughout the county. Of those cases, 22.8% are among 20-29 year olds, who make up 13.6% of the population.
The department also said it is seeing an increase of cases or secondary transmissions from Fourth of July and all types in Phase 2 where people are not physically distancing or wearing face coverings. More businesses are experiencing small numbers of cases, according to the release.
Daily totals for cases and deaths can change as the county receives new information, finds duplicate data or is assigned cases originally attributed to other counties.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. Rite Aid has launched drive-thru testing at some of its stores in Washington, including 7041 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma and 5700 100th St. SW, Suite 100 in Lakewood. More information is available at www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/services/covid-19-testing.
Local news has never been more important
Subscribe for unlimited digital access to the news that matters to your community.
For more information on other 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: 96 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 253 (251)
▪ East Pierce County: 104 (100)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 162 (160)
▪ Frederickson: 141 (139)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 106 (103)
▪ Graham: 109 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 21 (18)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 129 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 383 (378)
▪ Parkland: 220 (212)
▪ Puyallup: 264 (259)
▪ South Hill: 206 (202)
▪ South Pierce County: 79 (78)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 44 (45)
▪ Spanaway: 145 (139)
▪ Tacoma: 1,230 (1,203)
▪ University Place: 181 (180)
▪ Unknown: 38 (28)
BEHIND OUR REPORTING
How 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.
Tuesday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 96 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 253 (251)
▪ East Pierce County: 104 (100)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 162 (160)
▪ Frederickson: 141 (139)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 106 (103)
▪ Graham: 109 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 21 (18)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 129 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 383 (378)
▪ Parkland: 220 (212)
▪ Puyallup: 264 (259)
▪ South Hill: 206 (202)
▪ South Pierce County: 79 (78)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 44 (45)
▪ Spanaway: 145 (139)
▪ Tacoma: 1,230 (1,203)
▪ University Place: 181 (180)
▪ Unknown: 38 (28)
Washington state reports 797 new cases Monday
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Monday reported 797 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths.
Pierce County reported 60 new cases Monday and one new death. Pierce County had a total of 103 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 47,743 cases and 1,453 deaths, up from 46,946 cases and 1,447 deaths Sunday.
Thirty-seven people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Wednesday, July 12, the most recent date with complete data. March 23 saw 89 people admitted, the highest number to date during the pandemic.
Washington state has conducted 826,354 coronavirus tests. On July 12, the most recent date for which data is complete, 5,019 specimens were collected statewide, with 6.2% testing positive. That compares with 9,394 specimens and a 4.1% positive rate on June 12; 4,960 specimens and a 5.1% positive rate on May 12; and 1,386 specimens and a 6.4% positive rate on April 12.
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.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 13,319 cases and 636 deaths. Yakima County has the second-highest numbers, with 9,185 cases and 195 deaths.
All counties in Washington are reporting cases. Five of them have case counts of less than 10.
There had been more than 3.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 140,879 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 608,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Washington judge upholds farm housing coronavirus rules
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
A Washington judge Friday upheld coronavirus-related housing rules for farmworkers, rejecting claims by a union that the state bowed to the agricultural industry and adopted unsafe standards.
The Department of Labor and Industries and Department of Health strove to protect workers from a disease about which little was known, Thurston County Superior Court Judge John Skinder said.
“This is a difficult time and these are extremely difficult issues,” he said. “I can’t find the state acted in an arbitrary or capricious manner.”
Familias Unidas por la Justicia, a farmworker union based in northwest Washington, filed the suit, arguing that Washington should have followed Oregon and completely banned bunk beds, The Capital Press reported. Attorney for the union, Andrea Schmitt of Columbia Legal Services, said the rules were the result of political pressure and that state agencies didn’t consider the best evidence available for protecting workers.
Several farm groups intervened in the lawsuit, saying a complete ban on bunk beds would force out of work about 10,000 foreign farmworkers, far more than in Oregon.
The state’s attorney, Elliott Furst, said L&I and the health department discussed what information they had about the virus and relied on expert advice.
The farms groups said the rules have forced farms to reduce the number of workers they house. A ban on bunk beds would have cut capacity by half.
The Washington Farm Bureau, Washington Growers League, Washington State Tree Fruit Association and Wafla intervened in the lawsuit.
FUJ political director Edgar Franks said in an email that the farm groups were defending “corporate farms’ access to a vulnerable work force of H-2A workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Iconic Tacoma waterfront restaurant closed by COVID-19 won’t reopen this year
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
Johnny’s Dock has not closed permanently, but the owners have yet to decide how or when to reopen.
“This is a Tacoma icon,” said co-owner Steve Novotny, “and so when COVID hit, it just made everything so difficult. Now we don’t want to do any false starts.
“That place will rise again. I just can’t tell you it’s gonna rise in 2020 or early 2021.”
After weeks of phone calls and emails, Novotny confirmed to The New Tribune that the restaurant is unlikely to reopen during the pandemic.
“We’ve gotta run high volume, and there’s just no way we can do that right now,” he said.
Located on the Thea Foss Waterway, Johnny’s has been dormant since a March 16 post announcing the decision to not offer takeout. A sign on the door at 1900 East D St., across from the Museum of Glass, reminds potential thieves that all alcohol has been removed from the premises.
Takeout might have kept guests engaged, “but at the end of the day, it’s just really difficult to even get it to break even,” Novotny told The News Tribune in a July 20 phone call.
In the early stages of the pandemic, business started lagging as office workers deserted their posts and event traffic disappeared.
“We just felt like, we’ll just be chasing our tail,” he said. “It kinda came down to: it just wasn’t gonna be profitable, and that was kinda the bottom line.”
At 10,000 square feet, Johnny’s is also a massive restaurant, he added, and a destination.
Closing in March cost the business thousands in lost food and alcohol. Ultimately, the ownership group determined the risks associated with operating such a large space with no available vaccine was not worth it — neither to the development’s future nor the staff’s health.
Washington tribes get nearly $6 million for COVID relief
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
Nearly $6 million in federal grants have been approved for five Washington tribes to pay for programs to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus and give financial help to tribal members for rent and utility bills.
The Seattle Times reports the federal COVID-19 response grants are intended to assist in the many ways tribes are combatting the virus, from building tiny houses for quarantine, to building more housing to fight overcrowding and providing financial relief for tribal members strapped by the economic dropoff.
The money is being distributed under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to five tribes: the Lummi Nation Housing Authority; the Muckleshoot Housing Authority, the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the Squaxin Island Tribe and Tulalip Tribes.
The Tulalip will receive the most, with $1.5 million to provide rental and utility assistance for families financially hurt by the COVID crisis.
The Lummi Nation Housing Authority is receiving almost as much, $1,494,909 to build 14 new housing units on the reservation, where many young families face a housing shortage and overcrowding adds to the risk of the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Unemployed workers’ extra $600 benefit is about to expire — but Democrats have new plans
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
Unemployed Washington residents now receiving an extra $600 a week in jobless benefits are facing a sudden loss of that payment at the end of the month, but Democratic plans would keep the money coming in as long as the economy remains in turmoil.
The proposals, which so far have received virtually no Republican support, would tie the benefits to the state of the economy.
The $600 a week, which is added to the state’s regular benefit, is a federal program created in March to provide a lifeline to jobless people as the coronavirus pandemic sent the economy into a tailspin.
The benefit period ends this week, and that means the maximum payment in Washington would go back to $844 weekly unless Congress and the president act.
Congress returned to work Monday after a July recess, and lawmakers and the White House are scrambling to come up with a broad economic relief package that is likely to include some sort of relief for unemployed workers.
Moderate Democrats are prepared to unveil a plan later this week would maintain the $600 payment as long as the presidential emergency is in effect. President Donald Trump declared an emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13.
Once the emergency ends, the payments would drop to $450 everywhere for 13 weeks. Following that, it would drop to $200 or $300, depending on the unemployment rate in a state.
The plan has the backing of moderate House Democrats. To simply end the payment, as is now scheduled, “creates uncertainty in what’s already an uncertain time,” said Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Washington Democrat who chairs the centrist New Democrat Coalition. Kilmer is a co-author, along with Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., of the plan.
Senate Democrats have a somewhat different approach. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, would tie benefits directly to a state’s unemployment rate.
If the rate stayed over 11% for three months, the $600 weekly payment would continue. Once the average dropped, so would the payment. For every percentage point decrease, the payment would be reduced by $100 a week.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 9:26 AM.
