Coronavirus updates: Tacoma’s Pacific Grill the latest COVID-19 casualty
The Washington State Department of Health on Thursday reported 479 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths.
Pierce County reported 40 cases Thursday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 157 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 78,467 cases and 1,985 deaths, up from 78,009 cases and 1,978 Wednesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Eighteen people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 22, 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. 30, the most recent date with complete data, 4,483 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.3% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.4%. More than 1.59 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 20,519 cases and 744 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,112 cases and 250 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,189.
All counties in Washington have cases. Garfield and Wahkiakum have case counts of fewer than 10.
On Thursday, Washington had a 1,035-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,935, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,345. Vermont is lowest at 265.
There had been more than 6.39 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 191,612 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 906,000 people have died from the disease worldwide.
Restaurant that helped resurrect downtown Tacoma has closed for good
Pacific Grill, the iconic restaurant that helped resurrect downtown Tacoma, has closed permanently.
Chef Gordon Naccarato and co-owner Joe Hardwick Jr. announced the shutter in a press release Thursday afternoon.
“With a heavy heart, The Naccarato Restaurant Group (NRG) announces the permanent closure of Pacific Grill restaurant & Pacific Grill Events Center (dba Pacific Grill Events & Catering) due to the insurmountable impacts of the continuing Coronavirus and subsequent government-mandated shutdowns,” the release said.
Detailing having struggled through the 2008 economic downturn, the release added that “the impacts of COVID-19 have far outweighed any previous recessions and have been particularly devastating to the hospitality industry in general and restaurants in particular.”
This August marked the restaurant’s 15th year in business, and now also its last.
Service had been suspended since March, when shutdown orders forced restaurants to shutter their dining rooms. For a short time this summer, Naccarato offered takeaway steaks to cook at home, with full carryout an unlikely option.
According to a release of Paycheck Protection Program data, the restaurant received a loan of $350,000 to $1 million and the events side a loan of $150,000 to $350,000. The restaurant would retain 71 jobs and the catering business 29.
Owner and chef Gordon Naccarato penned an op-ed for The News Tribune in July, expressing his reasoning behind keeping his doors closed while others opened. Citing safety concerns for remaining closed even as there were other costs the PPP loan wouldn’t cover, he said, “Although we received a federal Paycheck Protection loan, it is ridiculously expensive to get caught up on all bills, and a second shutdown might be the last.”
He also emphasized that what was right for his restaurant might not be right for others.
“I support these restaurants and their decisions, and hope to join them in Phase 3. Then we can welcome you all back to Pacific Grill to help us celebrate 15 years in Tacoma,” he said in July.
Washington Health Department issues guidelines for COVID-19 patients returning to work
The Washington state Department of Health has issued guidance for employers and their workers when it comes to testing employees for COVID-19, as well as best practices for COVID-19 patients returning to work.
DOH only recommends routine screening of asymptomatic employees in certain high-risk jobs, such as healthcare workers.
Screening asymptomatic workers for COVID-19 only assesses the worker at that point in time and tests do not always detect people who are infected.
DOH also discourages employers from requiring their employees to have a negative test before returning to work after a confirmed COVID-19 infection.
Officials say people who are confirmed with COVID-19 infections and are not hospitalized can return to work after:
At least 10 days since symptoms first appeared;
At least 24 hours with no fever without fever-reducing medication; and
Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving. (Note: Loss of taste and smell may persist for weeks or months after recovery and need not delay the end of isolation.)
People with confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to a hospital may need to stay in isolation up to 20 days since their symptoms first appeared.
COVID-19 patients may shed SARS-CoV-2 virus at very low levels in their nose and test positive for up to three months after illness takes place. Those people are not likely to be infectious, DOH guidance says.
Madigan and JBLM participating in international COVID-19 treatment trial
Madigan Army Medical Center is in the third phase of a COVID-19 treatment trial alongside six other military treatment facilities.
The trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, is an adaptive treatment trial designed to evolve alongside the pandemic and can continue as long as there is no definitive treatment for the disease, according to Dr. Rhonda Colombo, an infectious disease physician and the lead assistant investigator for the trial at Madigan.
Adaptive treatment trials allow for modifications of the trial design as data is collected, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In the case of the trial Madigan is participating in, after the initial phase of the trial, the antiviral drug Remdesivir showed signs of reducing the recovery time for hospitalized patients with COVID-19. In each additional phase, Remdesivir has been used as the “control arm” of the study, according to Colombo.
All the participants in Madigan’s study are military beneficiaries — active duty or retired service members and their families — who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Participants are given the drug intravenously.
Craig Sailor, Kristine Sherred, Chase Hutchinson, Andrew Hammond and Abbie Shull contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 8:29 AM.
