Coronavirus updates: Nearly 1% of Washington population has been infected; Tacoma schools prepping for in-person learning
The Washington State Department of Health on Thursday reported 479 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 10 deaths.
The state’s case rate is now 1,000 per 100,000 people, or 1% of the population, according the Centers for Disease Control. That rate covers the span of the pandemic when testing began.
The national case rate is 1,857. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,235. Vermont is lowest at 261.
Pierce County reported 62 cases Thursday and three new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 155 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 75,856 cases and 1,945 deaths, up from 75,377 cases and 1,935 Wednesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Twenty-nine 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.
On Aug. 23, the most recent date with complete data, 5,697 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.7% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.5%. More than 1.5 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 19,892 cases and 732 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 10,994 cases and 243 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,931.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
There had been more than 6.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 186,467 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 865,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Isolation rooms, sign-in kiosks: How Tacoma is prepping schools for in-person learning
Andre Stout, principal at Truman Middle School in Tacoma, is eagerly awaiting his students to safely return to the classroom.
“I miss my kids,” he told The News Tribune as he stood inside an empty Truman earlier this week.
As COVID-19 cases slowly ease in Pierce County, that could be some time fairly soon. This week, the health department said that if its 14-day case count continues to drop, some elementary schools could open as early as this month.
In the meantime, Stout and his team have been prepping Truman for their safe return.
Already, yellow arrows mark a path from Truman’s bus drop-off zone — bus arrivals will be staggered — to the specific entry students are to use to get into the building.
“We’ve prepped this whole building up,” Stout said.
SIGN-IN KIOSKS
Try to go to a Tacoma school right now, and you’ll be met with a sign-in kiosk at the front door.
The computer asks visitors whether they’re experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or have been in contact with someone who has. If they answer yes to any of the questions, they’re asked to stay home.
The questionnaire is required, said district spokesperson Dan Voelpel, to help the department of health with contact tracing in the event of an outbreak at the school.
To avoid a massive line at the beginning of each school day, families will be asked to fill out the questionnaire daily before coming to school.
ISOLATION ROOMS
Despite asking students to stay home if sick, things don’t always go according to plan.
Some students already might be at school and start to feel sick. The district has prepared “isolation rooms” just in case.
There are two isolation rooms at Truman — one that can accommodate one student and staff member and one that can accommodate about three students and a staff member.
Stout said plastic will be placed over cabinets to make clearing isolation rooms easier. Staff also is trying to keep limited furniture inside rooms so as to reduce the number of items to clean.
‘Let us play.’ High school athletes rally at state capitol for return of football, fall sports
A group of over a hundred high school student-athletes rallied and marched on the capitol building in Olympia on Thursday afternoon as part of their petition, asking Gov. Jay Inslee to reinstate fall sports.
It was the theme of the Student Athletes of Washington’s “March on the Capitol,” as the state remains as one of fourteen in the nation not to reopen high school athletics, in some capacity.
“This is more than just sports,” said Josh McCarron, an Archbishop Murphy senior and University of Virginia commit. “For many, this is an opportunity to go to college. This is an opportunity to escape reality. … This is an opportunity to bring a young group of kids together, and help them learn the skills to become great future leaders. We need this, and we are prepared to do whatever for it.”
Similar to the suspension of in-person learning in schools around the state, the WIAA postponed athletic play and moved the fall sports schedule to March of next year, subsequently creating an outcry from student-athletes who want the opportunity to compete.
Several of SAW’s members addressed the crowd of athletes, parents, and coaches, stating their case for the resumption of high school athletics this fall.
“Texas, Florida and New York are among states playing this fall,” McCarron said. “But what do these states have in common? They are all among the top five states in terms of cases, all almost tripling our case count. Of the thirty-six states playing sports this fall, more than half of those states have more cases than us. So I ask, why not us?”
Georgia and Utah are also among those who have decided to play this fall. Georgia, now with over 220,000 coronavirus cases, are wearing masks at practice, keeping team meeting periods to only 15 minutes, and restricting the amount of athletes allowed in locker rooms, according to McCarron.
Some states have utilized contact tracing; if a player tests positive for COVID-19, those in contact with the infected athlete must be quarantined for a minimum of ten days.
“We understand this comes with risks,” McCarron said. “But thirty-six other states have taken the same risk and succeeded. What makes us different? We understand any life lost is too many, and that is why we are here to say we understand the gamble we are taking.”
Who should get coronavirus vaccines first? Here’s what the CDC is telling states
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have outlined who should be among the first people in the United States to get a coronavirus vaccine.
The CDC sent out a guidance to officials in all 50 states about the possibility of rolling out a vaccine by late October or early November. There could be an estimated 15 million doses of the vaccine available by the end of the year, according to the CDC.
But who would get the vaccine first, and why?
Healthcare professionals, essential workers, national security populations and long-term care residents and staff should be first in line, according to the CDC.
The CDC lists 672 coronavirus-related deaths among healthcare personnel as of Sept. 3. But Dr. Claire Rezba, an anesthesiologist in Virginia, said she had counted at least 1,000 since tracking healthcare deaths in late March, CBS reported in mid-August.
Essential workers, including those in retail, food-processing and meatpacking, are also being hit hard by COVID-19. More police officers have died of the coronavirus this year than from any other cause, according to data from two law enforcement nonprofits.
Nursing homes and long-term care facilities are coronavirus hotspots, as older adults with underlying medical conditions are at higher risk. A USA Today analysis in June found about 40% of the country’s coronavirus deaths were among long-term care residents and workers, amounting to more than 40,000 deaths over several months.
As for national security, about 1,800 Transportation Security Administration employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and six have died since the start of the pandemic, the Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
The Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed seeks to have 300 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine by January 2021.
Dozens of potential coronavirus vaccines are currently in trials, including several in Phase 3 in which thousands of people are given the vaccine to test its effectiveness and safety, The New York Times reported.
Public health experts have expressed concerns about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration using emergency authority to greenlight a COVID-19 vaccine before it’s ready.
“I think it’s extremely critical that we have rigorous evidence of safety and effectiveness supporting a vaccine before the FDA gives its OK,” Patricia Zettler, a former FDA associate chief counsel, told The Washington Post.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said he is optimistic about the release of a vaccine this year.
“I believe that by the time we get to the end of this calendar year that we will feel comfortable that we do have a safe and effective vaccine,” Fauci told NBC News on Wednesday.
CDC Director Robert Redfield in a letter to governors this week urged states to prepare a “fully operational” plan for distributing vaccines.
Craig Sailor, Allison Needles, Tyler Wicke and Summer Lin contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 9:31 AM.
