Coronavirus updates: State reaches 67k cases; cars getting towed at crowded trailheads
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Sunday, August 16.
Updated at 4:15 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 576 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths.
Pierce County reported 55 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday. Pierce County had a total of 132 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Saturday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 67,461 cases and 1,781 deaths, up from 66,885 cases and 1,766 deaths on Friday.
Thirty-seven people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 8, 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. 8, 6,394 specimens were collected statewide, with 5.4% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 7%.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, whichare given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 17,623 cases and 694 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,625 cases and 221 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,150.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
Pierce County reports 55 new cases
Updated at 2 p.m.
Pierce County on Sunday reported 55 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths.
County totals are now 6,048 cases and 132 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The health department has reported 1,012 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 112.2. The goal for counties in Phase 2 is 25 or fewer per 100,000.
The average cases per day over the past 14 days is 72.3.
There are an estimated 2,276 still-active cases in the county, according to the health department.
The county ranks third for cumulative cases in the state.
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 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: 147 (146)
▪ Central Pierce County: 384 (380)
▪ East Pierce County: 175 (173)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 237 (235)
▪ Frederickson: 232 (230)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 160 (159)
▪ Graham: 209 (208)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 41 (42)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 186 (185)
▪ Lakewood: 570 (559)
▪ Parkland: 334 (330)
▪ Puyallup: 356 (355)
▪ South Hill: 312 (311)
▪ South Pierce County: 144 (143)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 64 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 278 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 1,897 (1,886)
▪ University Place: 246 (244)
▪ Unknown: 76 (67)
State reports 746 new cases Saturday
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Friday reported 746 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths.
Pierce County reported 61 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday. Pierce County had a total of 132 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Saturday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 66,885 cases and 1,766 deaths, up from 66,139 cases and 1,755 deaths on Friday.
Thirty-five people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 6, 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. 6, 9,391 specimens were collected statewide, with 7.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 7%.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, whichare given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 17,491 cases and 688 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,590 cases and 220 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,094.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
On Thursday, Washington had a 878-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,613, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 2,934. Vermont is lowest at 240.
There had been over 5.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 169,423 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Saturday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 768,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Ability to get meals, services to quarantined school kids at risk, WA superintendents say
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
School district superintendents across Washington are voicing concerns over a state law that might prohibit them from collecting transportation funding to pay for bus drivers to deliver meals and instructional materials to students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 40 superintendents from King and Pierce counties representing more than 430,000 students sent a letter to state legislators earlier this month, asking for a change to the transportation funding formula, which provides funding to school districts based on the number of students they transport.
“Without immediate adjustments to rulemaking, and eventually state law, student needs will be unmet and the school transportation system will be dismantled,” the letter stated.
Due to COVID-19, many school districts are planning to return to school remotely this September and won’t be transporting students by bus. But superintendents say the buses and bus drivers still are needed.
This past spring, bus drivers “delivered educational materials, digital devices, hot spots for connectivity, and hundreds of thousands of meals to families facing food insecurity,” according to the letter signed Aug. 7. “We are relying on this strategy to meet student needs this fall, too.”
Superintendents say they have to make the decision before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year on whether they have money to keep their bus drivers employed through the year or if they will have to be furloughed.
“I think families should know that because of the uncertainties of funding at the state level, the services that they have had throughout the spring are at risk of not continuing, and that includes meal delivery and digital connectivity,” said Jessica de Barros, executive director of government and public relations for the Puget Sound Educational Service District.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction responded to superintendents Thursday, stating districts would be provided their “full transportation allocations for the months of September 2020 through January 2021,” but school leaders said it’s unclear whether they will have enough funding to last the entire school year.
40 COVID-19 cases reported at care facility in SW Washington
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
A long-term care facility in southwest Washington has recorded 40 COVID-19 cases.
The outbreak at Avamere Rehabilitation of Cascade Park in east Vancouver is Clark County’s largest at a long-term care facility since the county’s first COVID-19 case was discovered in March, The Columbian reported.
Clark County Public Health confirmed the outbreak Thursday afternoon. A COVID-19 dashboard on Avamere’s website said 18 residents and 22 staff at the skilled-nursing facility had tested positive for the virus as of Thursday afternoon. So far, no deaths have been linked to the outbreak.
Avamere did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.
In late April, Highgate Senior Living in Hazel Dell, Washington, recorded the county’s largest care facility outbreak at that time. There were 26 confirmed cases and seven deaths linked to Highgate.
Clark County Public Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick said Public Health and the state Department of Health are working with the facility, and that the first case was identified in July. Testing has been conducted for residents and staff, Melnick said.
“Long-term care facilities are not on an island. They are part of the community,” Melnick said. “When you have more activity in the community, you are going to see more activity in long-term care facilities. I’m urging and begging people of any age to physically distance and wear masks.”
Cars getting towed at crowded recreation areas, trailheads
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
Public officials in Oregon and Washington have a warning for people visiting trailheads and recreation areas across the region this weekend: park illegally and you might get towed.
The U.S. Forest Service tweeted a photo Thursday showing a car being towed from a trailhead parking area in the Mount Hood National Forest, saying law enforcement agencies would ticket and tow parked vehicles that pose a danger to public safety, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Earlier in the week, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said 16 cars were towed for parking illegally at a popular stretch of the Clackamas River in Oregon.
Forest service and state park officials said Friday that while illegal parking is nothing new, it’s been a bigger problem this summer as huge crowds flock to natural areas across the region amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We don’t tow away cars lightly,” said Heather Ibsen, spokeswoman for the Mount Hood National Forest. “They’re not towing just to make a point, they’re towing to help make sure an ambulance can get through.”
Even state parks with sizable lots have been overcrowded, particularly on the north Oregon coast. Chris Havel, spokesperson for the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, said it’s worse than they have ever seen it.
Agencies have been telling the public to avoid recreating at peak days and hours, if possible, and to come with backup plans or go home if there’s nowhere safe to park.
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 9:08 AM.
