Coronavirus updates: Pierce County adds free testing locations; state passes 75k cases
Updated at 9:20 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 438 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and four deaths.
Pierce County reported 31 cases Wednesday and two new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 152 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Wednesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 75,377 cases and 1,935 deaths, up from 74,939 cases and 1,931 Tuesday.
Thirty-one people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 14, 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. 22, the most recent date with complete data, 9,798 specimens were collected statewide, with 2.7% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.5%. More than 1.4 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 19,797 cases and 731 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,975 cases and 242 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,873.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
On Wednesday, Washington had a 994-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,845, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,210. Vermont is lowest at 261.
There had been more than 6.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 185,644 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 859,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Pierce County adds UW Tacoma locations to free testing program
Updated at 9:20 a.m.
Pierce County Emergency Management has added UW Tacoma to a list of locations where people can get tested for free for COVID-19.
The county’s mobile testing station will offer free tests to anyone, including faculty, staff and students in the UW Tacoma community. The station will be in a parking lot adjacent to the campus’s Pinkerton Building, across the street from 1735 S. Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, Wa.
Testing will be performed on three dates in September:
▪ Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
▪ Thursday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
▪ Saturday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Anyone can get tested and no appointment is necessary. The testing site will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. The free test is available via drive-thru or walk-up.
Those seeking tests will not need identification or insurance information. People will be asked to fill out two forms — one with contact information to receive results, and one for the lab test itself. People can complete the forms ahead of time and bring them to the test sites. The forms are available at piercecountwa.org/6758/covid19mobiletesting.
DispatchHealth, in partnership with MultiCare, is the medical provider conducting the tests.
People with positive test results will be prioritized for contact. People should get their results back within five to seven business days. If they have not received their results, they can call 833-723-0490.
Additional testing dates at this location will be announced prior to the start of the fall academic quarter at UW Tacoma. People can also get tested at any of the other testing sites listed by Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
More information about the UW Tacoma testing location, including an FAQ, is available at tacoma.uw.edu/covid19testing.
National Guard headed to Pullman to help slow coronavirus
Updated at 9:20 a.m.
The number of people testing positive for the coronavirus continues to grow rapidly in Whitman County, and various government agencies are working to slow the spread.
A team from the Washington National Guard was headed to Pullman on Wednesday to set up a COVID-19 testing operation, according to county Director of Public Health Troy Henderson.
Meanwhile, police in Pullman continue to issue tickets to people who are gathering in violation of laws intended to curb spread of the virus.
Henderson said a 25-member team from the National Guard was most recently helping with testing in Yakima.
Washington State University spokesman Phil Weiler said the National Guard was hoping to set up its testing site in an area known as ``apartment land,’′ where many WSU students live near campus.
Adjusted for population size, Pullman has one of the fastest-growing coronavirus outbreaks in the nation, according to a New York Times data dashboard.
Based on numbers from the last two weeks, Pullman had 5.9 new cases of coronavirus per every 1,000 residents, according to the dashboard.
On Tuesday, the Whitman County Health Department reported 50 new positive cases of the coronavirus, for a total of 559 cases.
Most of Pullman’s new coronavirus cases have occurred since WSU students began moving back to the area in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, the Pullman Police Department said Wednesday that it had issued ten nuisance party infractions over the past six days.
Washington Secretary of Health: Vaccine must be proven safe, effective before use
Updated at 9:20 a.m.
Washington’s Secretary of Health emphasized Wednesday that the state expects COVID-19 vaccines to fully pass the established three-phase research trials before they are distributed.
His comments followed news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had told public health officials to be prepared to distribute vaccines by Nov. 1 — two days before the national election.
“We certainly expect those trials to be completed before a vaccine is distributed, unless an independent board of scientists says otherwise,” health secretary John Wiesman said during a weekly briefing by health officials about the state’s coronavirus response.
“We’re planning towards that date so that no matter when a vaccine actually ends up being available that we will be ready for that,” he said. “... We want to distribute them only when it’s safe to do that.”
Clinical development of a vaccine is a three-phase process, according to the CDC website. During Phase I, small groups of people receive the trial vaccine. In Phase II, the clinical study is expanded and vaccine is given to people who have characteristics (such as age and physical health) similar to those for whom the new vaccine is intended. In Phase III, the vaccine is given to thousands of people and tested for efficacy and safety.
Wiesman talked Wednesday about public trust in institutions being low, and the risk of politics influencing the timing a vaccine’s release.
“Trust at this point is low for some people, and we want to make sure that the federal government takes all the steps they need to ensure that any release of this vaccine is not driven by politics,” Wiesman said. “... We stand here as a state Department of Health prepared to stick by what we believe as being an important issue, and ensuring safety and the effectiveness of these vaccines.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 9:22 AM.
