Coronavirus updates: Pierce County Council allocates CARES Act funds to schools
Updated at 2:30 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health said in a release on Wednesday that its guidance around COVID-19 testing has not changed. DOH still advises people with symptoms to get tested. People who have had close contact with a confirmed case should also get tested.
Close contacts of confirmed cases should stay at home away from others (quarantine) for 14 days after the last exposure even if they test negative for COVID-19, because it is possible for people who test negative to still be incubating the virus, and become contagious later.
People with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 should make testing their first priority, DOH said in the release. However, timing is key.
Testing too soon after an exposure may give people a negative result, even if they’ve been infected. If a person is exposed and develops symptom, testing that day or the next is recommended. If a person is exposed and doesn’t develop symptoms, waiting 5-6 days after exposure to get a test is recommended. People must stay in quarantine for the entire 14 days even if a test is negative.
People who aren’t sure where to go to get tested have several options available. They can call their health provider to see if they can test or call the county health department if they don’t have a doctor. Pharmacies or local clinics may also offer tests.
Tests are free and people do not need insurance to get one if you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or have been a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
Pierce County reports 44 cases Wednesday
Updated at 2:25 p.m.
Pierce County on Wednesday reported 44 new COVID-19 cases and one new death.
The new death involved a Tacoma woman in her 60s with underlying health conditions.
It was the third day in a row for lower case totals compared with recent weeks, when single-day totals spiked past 50 or more, peaking with 120 new cases on Aug. 5.
Wednesday’s total, though, was still higher than Monday’s 19 or Tuesday’s 30 new cases.
County totals are now at 6,515 cases and 145 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 762 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 84.5. 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 54.4.
There are an estimated 1,854 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.
Wednesday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 167 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 396 (394)
▪ East Pierce County: 191 (190)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 268 (265)
▪ Frederickson: 246 (243)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 172 (170)
▪ Graham: 220 (219)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 44 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 211 (209)
▪ Lakewood: 605 (598)
▪ Parkland: 352 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 386 (385)
▪ South Hill: 345 (344)
▪ South Pierce County: 160 (156)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 69 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 309 (305)
▪ Tacoma: 2,037 (2,035)
▪ University Place: 263 (265)
▪ Unknown: 74 (75)
Pierce County Council allocates CARES funds to schools
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Pierce County Council unanimously approved the creation of a Pierce County COVID-19 School Assistance Program.
Through the program, $5.5 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds will be made available to all K-12 Pierce County public school districts, tribal schools, Washington State Board of Education-approved private schools and Washington State Charter Commission-approved charter schools with campuses in Pierce County.
“We know Pierce County schools and the families they serve face countless hurdles as they prepare for the 2020-21 school year,” Council Chair Doug Richardson said in a release. “While we can’t authorize the reopening of schools, we can provide financial assistance to aid our schools, which in turn will help Pierce County children and families.”
Allocations vary depending on student enrollment, but the maximum amount available is $750,000 per eligible school provider. For those with smaller student enrollment numbers, the following minimums were set:
▪ $5,000 for eligible recipients with less than 75 students;
▪ $10,000 for eligible recipients with 74 to 149 students; and
▪ $25,000 for eligible recipients with 150 to 360 students.
To receive the funds, eligible school providers must enter into an agreement with Pierce County. The county’s Finance Department will implement the program.
At a minimum, approved providers must agree to use the money in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, they must comply with CARES Act requirements and they must provide a summary of funds used or the planned use of funds.
State reports 334 cases on Tuesday
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Tuesday reported 334 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths.
Pierce County reported 30 cases Tuesday and one new death. Pierce County had a total of 144 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 71,705 cases and 1,876 deaths, up from 71,371 cases and 1,867 deaths Monday.
Thirty-six 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.
On Aug. 14, the most recent date with complete data, 14,510 specimens were collected statewide, with 4.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 4.1%. More than 1.3 million tests have been conducted in Washington.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction tests, which are administered while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 18,837 cases and 715 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,843 cases and 237 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,585.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
On Tuesday, Washington had a 947-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,744, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,081. Vermont is lowest at 250.
There had been nearly 5.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 178,326 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 815,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
New testing metric and methodology updates announced
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health is changing the way it processes and reports testing data statewide, in an effort to account for the true volume of tests being done.
The following changes are set to take effect on Tuesday.
Total tests: The DOH data dashboard and the risk assessment dashboard will now report on the total number of tests instead of the total individuals who were tested. This is a change from the old approach, which counted just one test per person, even if someone was tested more than once. With this new change, every test is counted, and the new data will improve the understanding of the testing situation as it now fully reflects the actual testing volume. This change was made to be more in line with other states’ methodologies as well as the CDC.
Percent positive: The percent of total tests that are positive will also shift from being based on the percentage of unique individuals who test positive to the percentage of tests that are positive.
Daily Testing Rate: This will be added to the Risk Assessment dashboard. This additional measure helps understand the per capita testing levels in the state and by county. The new measure allows easy comparisons of counties and other locations. It is calculated by dividing the average number of molecular tests performed over the past week by the population in the county or state and then multiplying by 100,000.
More layoffs, furloughs coming for Puyallup School District staff who can’t work remotely
Updated at 9:15 a.m.
The Puyallup School District is considering layoffs and furloughs for staff who are unable to work while school is remote.
The school board unanimously voted Aug. 17 to allow Superintendent John Polm to “take such action as is necessary to restructure, reorganize and/or reduce classified support staffing positions and programs that will not, or likely will not be utilized during a period of distance learning,” the resolution stated.
President Kathy Yang told The Puyallup Herald the district is trying to avoid layoffs and opting for furloughs as much as possible.
“We are looking at every employment group and saying ‘How much can we retain?’” Yang said. “We can’t have people on payroll who don’t have a job to do. But we recognize it’s very sensitive to do this in this trying time for everyone.”
Those who are furloughed will receive benefits through the school district and be able to apply for unemployment. They would return to the district payroll when students return to school, Yang said.
The district does not have a target amount of funding to save, nor do they have an idea of how many staff will be laid off or furloughed.
The school board president expects that decisions will be reached before the beginning of the school year.
Karen McNamara, president of the Puyallup Education Association, said as of now, there haven’t been any teacher reductions, but there have been furloughs for “classified positions,” which include paraeducators, bus drivers and cafeteria workers.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 9:22 AM.
