Coronavirus updates: State reaches 67,461 cases, 1,781 deaths
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Monday, August 17.
Updated at 9:05 a.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.
Coronavirus hasn’t devastated the homeless as many feared
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
When the coronavirus emerged in the U.S. this year, public health officials and advocates for the homeless feared the virus would rip through shelters and tent encampments, ravaging vulnerable people who often have chronic health issues.
They scrambled to move people into hotel rooms, thinned out crowded shelters and moved tents into designated spots at sanctioned outdoor camps.
While shelters saw some large COVID-19 outbreaks, the virus so far doesn’t appear to have brought devastation to the homeless population as many feared. However, researchers and advocates say much is unknown about how the pandemic is affecting the estimated half-million people without housing in the U.S.
In a country that’s surpassed 5 million identified cases and 169,000 deaths, researchers don’t know why there appear to be so few outbreaks among the homeless.
“I am shocked, I guess I can say, because it’s a very vulnerable population. I don’t know what we’re going to see in an aftermath,” said Dr. Deborah Borne, who oversees health policy for COVID-19 homeless response at San Francisco’s public health department. “That’s why it’s called a novel virus, because we don’t know.”
More than 200 of an estimated 8,000 homeless people in San Francisco have tested positive for the virus, and half came from an outbreak at a homeless shelter in April. One homeless person is among the city’s 69 deaths.
In other places with large homeless populations, the numbers are similarly low. In King County, which includes Seattle, more than 400 of an estimated 12,000 homeless residents have been diagnosed. In Los Angeles County, more than 1,200 of an estimated 66,000 homeless people have been diagnosed.
It’s slightly higher in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, where nearly 500 of an estimated 7,400 homeless people have tested positive, including nine who died.
Health experts say the numbers don’t indicate how widespread the disease is or how it might play out long term. It’s unknown how many people have died of conditions indirectly related to the virus. While the coronavirus may dissipate more easily outdoors than indoors, living outside has its own risks.
With public libraries and other places closed, homeless people say they’re short on food and water, restrooms and cash. In San Francisco, 50 homeless people died over an eight-week period in April and May — twice the usual rate, said Dr. Barry Zevin, medical director of the public health department’s street medicine program.
The official causes are pending, but Zevin notes that fentanyl overdoses are rising and stay-at-home orders may prevent people from getting help quickly. He knew isolation could result in more overdoses.
“I think that’s happened, and whether it’s more or less than I would have expected, I don’t know,” he said. “It’s frustrating to be able to forecast something as a problem, do everything you can to prevent it as a problem, but it’s absolutely a case of competing priorities.”
Washington State Fair is showing a free drive-in movie on Aug. 22
Updated at 9:05 a.m.
Looking for family fun in Puyallup? The Washington State Fair is showing a weekend film in its parking lot.
“The Goonies” will be shown Aug. 22 about 9 p.m., or after sunset, in the Blue parking lot.
While the showing is free, the fair has asked viewers to bring a donation for the Puyallup Food Bank.
The Fisher Scone truck will be at the parking lot, fair spokesperson Stacy Van Horne said. Visitors can bring their own food.
The event is a first come, first served until the 500-vehicle capacity is reached, the fair said. The parking lot gates open at 7:30 p.m.
There will be no amplified sound, so audio will play through vehicles’ radios.
Each vehicle will be 10-feet apart.
The Washington State Fair will follow COVID-19 public health safety protocols, such as social distancing markers at food vendors and restrooms and limited capacity at the restrooms. There will be hand sanitizer available.
Staff and vendors will wear appropriate personal protective equipment, the fair said. Visitors are expected to wear a cloth face covering when leaving the vehicle.
For more information, visit the Washington State Fair’s website.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 9:08 AM.
