Coronavirus updates: State passes 77k cases
Updated at 5:20 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 399 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Department of Health is no longer reporting death numbers on weekends.
Pierce County reported 38 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday. Pierce County had a total of 155 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 77,235 cases and 1,953 deaths, up from 76,836 cases on Friday.
The test numbers reflect only polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are given to patients while the virus is presumably still active in the body.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 20,237 cases and 736 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,059 cases and 243 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 6,942, according to the Tacoma Pierce-County Health Department.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
Pierce County reports 38 new cases
Updated at 2 p.m.
Pierce County on Sunday reported 38 new COVID-19 cases and no additional deaths.
County totals are now at 6,942 cases and 155 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 552 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 61.2. 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 39.4.
There are an estimated 1,365 still-active cases in the county, according to the health department.
The health department has created a dashboard to show how the county is doing in terms of returning students to in-person classes. The dashboard is at TPCHD.org/covidinfoschools.
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.
Sunday’s geographical case totals are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 176 (175)
▪ Central Pierce County: 418 (416)
▪ East Pierce County: 230 (223)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 287 (284)
▪ Frederickson: 260 (257)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 190 (187)
▪ Graham: 234 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 53 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 221 (219)
▪ Lakewood: 644 (no change)
▪ Parkland: 372 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 413 (411)
▪ South Hill: 369 (368)
▪ South Pierce County: 169 (167)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 70 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 324 (321)
▪ Tacoma: 2,153 (2,142)
▪ University Place: 277 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 82 (84)
State reports 501 new cases Saturday
Updated at 9 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Saturday reported 501 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Department of Health is no longer reporting death numbers on weekends.
Pierce County reported 44 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 76,836 cases and 1,953 deaths, up from 76,335 cases on Friday.
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 20,166 cases and 736 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,034 cases and 243 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,039.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
COVID-19 outbreak sickens 5 at Virginia Mason Medical Center
Updated at 9 a.m.
Four employees and a patient at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle have tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, officials said.
The infections have been connected to someone who visited the patient. The visitor tested positive after being at the hospital, said Gale Robinette, Virginia Mason’s spokesperson and media relations manager.
The four employees and the patient have been quarantined, and every patient and employee who works on that floor has been tested, with no new infections discovered, Robinette said.
“We are continuing our surveillance efforts and working closely with Public Health – Seattle & King County,” he said.
Kate Cole, a spokesperson for Public Health – Seattle & King County, said the agency is working with Virginia Mason and that the five infections “meets our definition for a healthcare setting outbreak.”
An outbreak can be declared at a hospital if two or more linked cases occur within a two-week period.
Robinette wouldn’t say when the infected person visited the hospital, when the patient and employees tested positive, whether employees throughout the hospital are being tested or when the hospital notified Public Health – Seattle & King County.
This story was originally published September 6, 2020 at 9:00 AM.
