Coronavirus updates: State says virus has long-term complications; Inslee discusses mail-in-voting
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Friday, August 14.
The Washington State Department of Health on Thursday reported 637 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths.
Pierce County reported 72 cases Wednesday and one new death. Pierce County had a total of 130 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 65,339 cases and 1,736 deaths, up from 64,702 cases and 1,724 deaths Wednesday.
Thirty-six people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 5, the most recent date with complete data. Late March had two days with 88 people admitted, the highest numbers to date during the pandemic.
The total number of tests conducted is temporarily unavailable, according to the DOH. On Aug. 5, 9,757 specimens were collected statewide, with 7.6% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 7%.
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.
COVID-19 a deadly disease that has long-term complications, Washington state says
Complications in patients recovering from COVID-19 could last weeks after people become ill, Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday.
“We are not dealing with the common flu,” Inslee said at a virtual press conference. ”We are dealing with a deadly disease that has long-term complications.”
About 35% of COVID-19 patients have not returned to their prior health when interviewed two to three weeks after they tested positive, Inslee said, citing a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Among persons age 18 to 34, including specifically those with no underlying health conditions, 1 in 5 had not returned to their usual health, he said.
Dr. Francis Riedo of Evergreen Health in Kirkland joined Inslee on the call.
Riedo, who deals with infectious diseases and has been on the front lines, said health care providers were seeing patients who, even three months after infection, complain about exhaustion, persistent headaches, muscle aches and difficulty concentrating as well as changes in their sense of smell and taste.
“This is peculiar. We don’t see this with other viral infections,” Riedo said. “... We hope that people improve because there is quite honestly very little in terms of therapy for this.”
Answering a reporter’s question, Riedo said: “I think the complication that we’re seeing the most is the fatigue. It is really a crushing fatigue. These are individuals who have a hard time putting more than a couple hours of effort into their day. I think that’s the most debilitating.”
Riedo also talked about advances in treatment of patients with COVID-19.
“We learned that it was better to not put people on ventilators right away,” he said. “That turning people on their stomachs actually helped them breathe.”
Investigators in the United Kingdom have shown a benefit to steroids, and studies from the National Institutes of Health have confirmed remdesivir was “effective in hastening improvement,” he said.
It’s just as important, Riedo said, to learn what doesn’t work.
Studies have shown “Hydroxychloroquine was of no benefit,” he said.
Riedo also noted Dr. Lisa Jackson at Kaiser Permanente in Washington state “was the first to initiate phase 1, phase 2 trials of a vaccine that has now entered broadly phase 3 testing.”
And he asked people to wear masks, wash their hands, social distance, and stay home from work when sick.
“We need your help to slow this down,” he said.
MAIL-IN-VOTING
Inslee also accused the president, who has said he will block emergency funding for the postal service, of: “trying to sabotage mail-in-voting by degrading the ability of U.S. mail to do its job of delivering these ballots.”
Mail-in-voting, Inslee said: “has been such a success in Washington state. This argument that it is somehow full of fraud is just a bunch of bunk. It’s absolutely untrue.”
The governor said the state attorney general “is now considering what our rights to be in Washington state. We believe these actions are unlawful.”
Inslee went on to say: “As a result of the president’s policies, it’s possible people who register eight days before the election wouldn’t be able to get their ballot on time.”
COVID-19 exposure at Madigan pharmacy limits hours, causing long delays for medicine
After a worker tested positive for COVID-19, the Madigan Army Medical Center’s pharmacy closed early nearly every day this week, due to staffing shortages.
The drive-thru pharmacy stopped accepting patients at 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, just 90 minutes after opening, because it reached its daily capacity for filling orders. The pharmacy also closed early on Aug. 11 and 13.
Staff members who came in contact with the person diagnosed were screened for COVID-19 and immediately quarantined. The pharmacy has reduced its hours, for the time being, causing patients to wait in line for four to five hours during peak times. Lines have been so long, port-a-potties were installed along the drive-thru route.
Officials said the pharmacy plans to resume regular hours next week after the quarantine period ends for staff. The pharmacy has been open only to drive-thru patients since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Madigan public affairs officer Jay Ebbeson said there was no concern about exposure to patients. In a post on its website, Madigan said the pharmacy has extensive processes, including cleaning and sanitizing items that patients might come in contact with, which reduces the risk of a staff member transmitting the virus to a patient.
Hand sanitizers made in China, Texas, North Carolina now on the FDA’s Do Not Use list
The FDA’s Do Not Use hand sanitizer list, once a roll call of Mexican-made hand sanitizers with methanol, now includes hand sanitizers from China, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia and Utah.
And methanol’s been joined by 1-propanol as a prohibited “toxic” ingredient.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information said 1-propanol “is used as a solvent in the pharmaceutical industry, and for resins and cellulose esters.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 9:17 AM.
