Coronavirus updates: FEMA announces Lost Wages Grant for Washington; state reaches 71,012 cases
Updated at 2:45 p.m.
Pierce County on Monday reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and one new death.
The one-day case count was the lowest in single-day new cases since June 28, when 19 new cases were reported.
The additional death involved a Puyallup man in his 80s with underlying health conditions.
County totals are now at 6,461 cases and 143 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 818 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 90.7. 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 58.4.
There are an estimated 1,963 still-active cases in the county, according to the health department.
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.
Monday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 166 (165)
▪ Central Pierce County: 395 (394)
▪ East Pierce County: 185 (184)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 263 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 243 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 168 (169)
▪ Graham: 217 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 44 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 208 (207)
▪ Lakewood: 599 (598)
▪ Parkland: 352 (353)
▪ Puyallup: 385 (383)
▪ South Hill: 343 (no change)
▪ South Pierce County: 155 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 69 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 303 (302)
▪ Tacoma: 2,024 (2,018)
▪ University Place: 264 (261)
▪ Unknown: 78 (77)
FEMA announces Lost Wages Grant for Washington
Updated at 12:50 p.m.
FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor approved Washington for a FEMA grant under the Lost Wages Assistance program.
FEMA’s grant funding will allow Washington to provide $300 per week — on top of their regular unemployment benefit — to those unemployed due to COVID-19. FEMA will work with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to implement a system to make this funding available to Washington residents.
On Aug. 8, 2020, President Trump made available up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Washington state agreed to administer a lost wages program for its citizens who are unemployed due to COVID-19.
To see a list of states previously approved for lost wages assistance, go to: https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/lost-wages-assistance-approved-states.
To learn more about FEMA’s lost wages supplemental payment assistance, visit: https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/fema-lost-wages-supplemental-payment-assistance.
State reports 417 new cases Sunday
Updated at 8:55 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 417 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
Pierce County reported 67 new cases and no new deaths on Sunday. Pierce County had a total of 142 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Sunday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 71,012 cases and 1,863 deaths, up from 70,595 cases and 1,857 deaths on Saturday.
Twenty-six people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 15, 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.
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 18,662 cases and 713 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,816 cases and 235 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,445.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
On Sunday, Washington had a 937-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,722, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,041. Vermont is lowest at 248.
There had been over 5.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 176,765 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 806,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Quinault Indian Nation closes to visitors due to COVID-19
Updated at 8:55 a.m.
The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is now closed to visitors in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases among households on the reservation.
KOMO-TV reports the shutdown was announced by the QIN government on Saturday.
According to officials with the QIN, the Nation reported its first positive COVID-19 case last week, which required some households to enter a 14-day quarantine period.
The closure will be in effect through at least September 6 to ensure infections do not spread.
“With recent positive tests of some members of QIN households in the first days of quarantine, we decided immediate and major steps are needed to protect the health and safety of our families and neighbors,” said Quinault Indian Nation Vice-President Tyson Johnston.
“We are asking all reservation residents to stay home and travel only for essential needs such as food, medicine and medical attention.”
During the closure, all government operations will shutdown except for essential services like meal delivery, medication fulfillment, urgent medical care, COVID-19 test, police, and fire services.
Access to the Quinault Indian Reservation will be restricted to village residents, Quinault tribal members, and essential government employees.
UP church starts new school for early learning, child care in response to COVID-19
Updated at 8:55 a.m.
A new school offering child care and early learning for children between 6 weeks and 6 years old is opening in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New School at Chambers Bay is located on the campus of OURCHURCH, 5000 67th Ave W. in University Place. OURCHURCH is led by senior pastor Dean Curry.
The school is enrolling students and has the capacity to serve 65 child care and 40 part-day preschool children. Starting Sept. 8, the school will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. each business day. Tuition varies depending on age and the type of program, and an application fee is being waived through Aug. 25.
The school will start with seven lead teachers, who are “encouraged to have at least an AA degree” and “required to have 10 hours per year of ongoing education,” according to the school’s website.
The hope is to have the school continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes.
“It’s more than just child care, it’s really childcare and education,” said Melanie Grassi Wood, marketing director for the school and OURCHURCH executive pastor. “We want families to understand that we believe in both excellent care and excellent education.”
The school will conduct assessments on every child to help determine skill levels and develop activities and lesson plans for each child. Students in the program can engage in language development, math, science, gym, phonics and writing.
COVID-19 precautions include having staff wear masks, implementing hand-washing stations and temperature-checking all students prior to entering the building.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 8:56 AM.
