Coronavirus updates: State passes 58k cases
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Sunday, August 2.
Updated at 8 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 632 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths.
DOH experienced issues with its reporting system on Sunday that caused interruptions in several functions. It reported cases, deaths and hospitalizations, but is reporting only 437 negative test results from Aug. 1. DOH is working to address the issue.
Pierce County reported 77 new cases on Sunday and no deaths. Pierce County had a total of 116 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from illness caused by the coronavirus are at 58,173 cases and 1,596 deaths, up from 57,541 cases and 1,592 deaths on Saturday.
Thirty-eight people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on July 25, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.
On July 25, the most recent date for which data is complete, 9,073 specimens were collected statewide, with 450 testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 5.6%.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 15,501 cases and 657 deaths. Yakima County has the second-highest numbers, with 10,017 cases and 189 deaths.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of less than 10.
Pierce County reports 77 new cases
Updated at 2:30 p.m.
Pierce County on Sunday reported 77 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths.
County totals are now 5,059 cases and 116 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma Pierce-County Health Department has reported 1,302 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 144.3. The average cases per day over the last 14 days is 93.0. There were 2,244 active cases as of Aug. 1.
In a statement on Friday, the Tacoma Pierce-County Health Department wrote that 41.4% of the cases reported in the last two weeks are of 20-39 year olds. The statement also said that more businesses are experiencing small numbers of cases.
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. For more information on other local testing sites, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
Sunday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 120 (119)
▪ Central Pierce County: 337 (329)
▪ East Pierce County: 132 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 201 (197)
▪ Frederickson: 192 (188)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 134 (130)
▪ Graham: 158 (155)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 28 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 154 (153)
▪ Lakewood: 467 (462)
▪ Parkland: 293 (290)
▪ Puyallup: 321 (319)
▪ South Hill: 263 (261)
▪ South Pierce County: 105 (100)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 54 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 211 (204)
▪ Tacoma: 1,626 (1,603)
▪ University Place: 216 (214)
▪ Unknown: 47 (46)
Demands from group of Pac-12 players include those related COVID-19
Updated at 2:30 p.m.
Washington junior linebacker Joe Tryon and senior wide receiver Ty Jones are among a group of Pac-12 players threatening to opt out of fall camp and game participation unless their demands are met by the conference.
The group, which claims to represent hundreds of players in the conference, outlined its movement in a letter posed on The Players’ Tribune. The demands include fair treatment, safety regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, revenue sharing and an end to racial injustice in college athletics.
Both Jones and Tryon are listed by the group as media contacts.
When it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group is demanding an option not to play without the risk of losing athletic eligibility or a spot on the roster. The group is also pushing to prohibit and void any agreements that waive a school’s liability as it relates to the pandemic.
Moving forward, the group is demanding “player-approved health and safety standards enforced by a third party selected by players to address COVID-19, as well as serious injury, abuse and death.”
The Pac-12 previously said all athletes who choose not to play this season because of health or safety concerns related to COVID-19 will have their scholarship protected and remaining in good standing with their team. The conference also previously decided to eliminate the non-conference schedule for several fall sports, including football. On Friday, it released its 10-game, conference-only football schedules.
State reports 1,738 new cases on Saturday
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Saturday reported 1,738 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 28 new deaths.
Pierce County reported 109 new cases Thursday and no deaths. Pierce County had a total of 116 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from illness caused by the coronavirus are at 57,541 cases and 1,592 deaths, up from 55,803 cases and 1,564 deaths on Thursday.
Forty-eight people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on July 22, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.
Washington state has conducted 973,654 coronavirus tests. On July 22, the most recent date for which data is complete, 15,389 specimens were collected statewide, with 6% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 5.5%.
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 15,390 cases and 655 deaths. Yakima County has the second-highest numbers, with 9,961 cases and 204 deaths.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of less than 10.
US task force leader says pandemic in new phase
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
White House coronavirus task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx says widespread coronavirus infections in urban and rural America mark a “new phase” for the pandemic as she doubled down on calls to wear face masks and observe social distancing measures.
Birx, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning, said “What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread.”
The United States has the world’s biggest number of cases at 4.6 million, or one-quarter of the total, and 154,361 deaths. Birx said mitigation efforts across the west and the south are beginning to work but warned that people need to take the virus seriously and employ significant safety precautions when cases first begin to tick up.
Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine first? ‘Controversial’ choices ahead, experts say
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
Experts are trying to determine who should be first to receive a coronavirus vaccine once one becomes available.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, said a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year and distributed to Americans in 2021, NPR reported.
More than 150 vaccines for the virus are in various stages of development across the world, National Geographic reported.
It typically takes years for a vaccine to make it through the three phases of development before it’s handed off to regulatory agencies to be approved, but some COVID-19 vaccines — including those developed by Moderna, Pfizer and the University of Oxford — have already moved into the third phase of clinical testing, which includes administering the vaccine to a wide array of people, according to the outlet.
But as these potential vaccines inch closer to the finish line, experts say determining who should be prioritized when it comes to getting the vaccine is no simple task.
Public health officials pulled together a panel of outside scientists and ethicists saddled with developing an “equitable” framework for how the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine should be distributed, Reuters reported.
The panel is expected to announce its recommendation early this fall, according to the Mercury News.
National Institute of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told the panel — which includes experts from the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine — to consider prioritizing healthcare workers, military personnel and other essential frontline workers in areas of the country hardest hit by the pandemic, according to Reuters.
He also directed their focus to people who volunteered for vaccine testing, but received placebo shots, the outlet reported.
A preliminary plan devised by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this spring would give priority to medical workers, national security officials, essential workers, older people and those with underlying health conditions, the New York Times reported, with the general population following later.
But people may still need to be prioritized within these larger groups.
Officials could also need to determine who falls under the “essential worker” umbrella, the Associated Press reported. For instance, would it include teachers or people who work in poultry plants?
Dr. Sharon Frey of St. Louis University said people who are poverty stricken and live in crowded conditions in urban areas should also be considered for priority, as they have less access to healthcare and often can’t work from home, according to the AP.
Dr. Henry Bernstein of Northwell Health suggested vaccinating entire families as opposed to just one high-risk person in the home, the AP reported.
The panel is also considering whether Black and Latino people — two groups among those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic — should be higher on the list than other members of the population, according to the Times.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 9:35 AM.
