Coronavirus updates: State nears 81k cases; QFC donates to fight food insecurity
Updated at 9 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health on Wednesday reported 347 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and five deaths.
Pierce County reported 34 cases Wednesday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 162 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 80,812 cases and 2,020 deaths, up from 80,465 cases and 2,015 Tuesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Twenty-two people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Aug. 28, 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 Sept. 5, the most recent date with complete data, 7,933 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.7% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.4%. More than 1.67 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 21,049 cases and 749 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,194 cases and 253 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,395.
All counties in Washington have cases. Eleven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
On Wednesday, Washington had a 1,068-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 1,986, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,418. Vermont is lowest at 272.
There had been more than 6.62 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 196,485 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Wednesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation. More than 937,000 people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 29 million.
QFC donates to fight food insecurity
Updated at 9 a.m.
QFC has donated $229,815 to local non-profits to address the urgent food needs of families struggling during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
This effort is part of Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan to end hunger in communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an incredible amount of stress on families and on the nonprofit organizations trying to assist them,” said Chris Albi, president of QFC. “Now more than ever, QFC is committed to strengthening our local communities and we hope these donations will help provide relief for local families that are struggling to put food on the table.”
The donations were awarded through the Kroger Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 2018 to address that 40% of the food produced is thrown away while 1 in 8 Americans struggle with hunger.
Recipient organizations benefitting from Kroger Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation donations include:
▪ Food Lifeline ($175,546)
▪ The Oregon Food Bank ($10, 213)
▪ Solid Ground Washington ($12,000)
▪ Northshore Senior Center ($2,500)
▪ Jubilee Reach ($5,000)
▪ Kent Community Center ($2,000)
▪ Boys & Girls Club of King County ($5,000)
▪ Boys & Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula ($5,000)
300 chiropractic office visitors urged to quarantine
Updated at 9 a.m.
Public health officials are urging nearly 300 people who visited a chiropractic office in southwestern Washington last week to quarantine immediately because they may have been exposed to COVID-19 by an infected worker.
The county took the unusual step of publicly announcing the case Wednesday in an effort to quickly reach those visitors. Officials expect it will take contact tracers a few days to speak to everyone who had been there, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Mask use at the office had been “inconsistent” and public health officials are considering everyone who visited at risk of exposure “out of an abundance of caution,” spokeswoman Marissa Armstrong said.
A worker who “spent a substantial amount of time with patients” at the chiropractic office tested positive for COVID-19 this week, Armstrong said. The facility is Chiro One Wellness Center Salmon Creek which is north of Vancouver.
Washington state COVID-19 guidance for weddings and funerals has been updated
Updated at 9 a.m.
Gov. Jay Inslee updated guidance for weddings and funerals in phase two and phase three counties Wednesday under the state’s Safe Start plan.
The guidance says receptions can resume with restrictions.
Both receptions and ceremonies are limited to 30 people or 25 percent of a venue’s occupancy. The smaller os those two numbers applies.
Tables are limited to five people, and indoors they must seated by household.
Masks and social distancing are required.
“The host of the wedding service or funeral is strongly encouraged to keep a log of attendees, and to retain that log for at least two weeks,” the guidance says. “If an outbreak occurs, this information may be critical for contact tracing to help save lives.”
The full list of requirements is online at governor.wa.gov.
Pregnant women with COVID-19 have higher rates of premature birth, CDC report says
Updated at 9 a.m.
Pregnant women who have COVID-19 could be at greater risk of giving birth prematurely, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report, released on Wednesday, studied 598 pregnant women hospitalized with COVID-19 between March and August. Of the 445 live births, 12.6% were premature births, meaning they were born before 37 weeks. Preterm births occurred in 23.1% of symptomatic women and 8% of asymptomatic women.
The premature birth rate for women with COVID-19 is more than 25% higher than the rate for the general population. In 2018, the premature delivery rate of the general population was 10%, the CDC said.
The risk of death and disability in premature births increases the earlier a baby is born, the CDC said. In 2017, low birth weight and premature births resulted in 17% of infant deaths.
Two newborns in the CDC report died and “were born to symptomatic women who required invasive mechanical ventilation.”
Of the women with COVID-19, 55% were asymptomatic when admitted to the hospital. Among the symptomatic women, 16.2% were admitted to the intensive care unit, 8.5% required mechanical ventilation and two died.
Ten of the women had a miscarriage or stillbirth — but the CDC said it “likely underestimates the percentage of pregnancy losses that occur among women with COVID-19.”
Along with “adverse pregnancy outcomes” like preterm birth, expectant mothers could have a higher risk for severe illness from the virus.
The CDC recommends that pregnant women have a 30-day supply of all necessary medication, attend prenatal appointments and talk to a healthcare provider about how to stay healthy during the pandemic.
