Coronavirus updates: State passes 86k cases
Updated at 4:15 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Sunday reported 439 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The department is no longer reporting deaths on weekends.
Pierce County reported 63 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday. Pierce County had a total of 170 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Sunday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 86,269, up from 85,830 cases and 2,100 deaths on Saturday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 22,103 cases and 768 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,395 cases and 258 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,772, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
All counties in Washington have cases.
Pierce County reports 63 new cases
Updated at 2:30 p.m.
Pierce County reported 63 new COVID-19 cases Sunday and no new deaths.
County totals are now at 7,772 cases and 170 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 594 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 65.9. The goal for counties in Phase 2 is 25 or fewer per 100,000.
Average cases per day over the past 14 days is 42.4.
There are an estimated 1,105 still-active cases in the county, according to the health department.
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 for Pierce County are listed below with previous day’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 193 (187)
▪ Central Pierce County: 456 (454)
▪ East Pierce County: 266 (260)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 333 (329)
▪ Frederickson: 307 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 221 (218)
▪ Graham: 266 (264)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 59 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 247 (243)
▪ Lakewood: 688 (no change)
▪ Parkland: 426 (422)
▪ Puyallup: 462 (460)
▪ South Hill: 417 (413)
▪ South Pierce County: 212 (209)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 80 (79)
▪ Spanaway: 355 (352)
▪ Tacoma: 2,397 (2,379)
▪ University Place: 310 (307)
▪ Unknown: 77 (no change)
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Saturday reported 604 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The department is no longer reporting deaths on weekends.
Pierce County reported 59 new cases and no new deaths on Saturday. Pierce County had a total of 170 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 85,830 cases and 2,100 deaths, up from 85,226 cases and 2,100 deaths on Friday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 21,995 cases and 768 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,378 cases and 258 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 7,849.
All counties in Washington have cases.
Confusion over mask requirements at Tacoma schools means in-person learning on hold indefinitely
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
A day after Tacoma Public Schools officials cited new state guidance in deciding to cancel plans to return to in-person school on Monday, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor and Industries said no new guidance has been issued.
The News Tribune on Friday could not determine who’s right, but the upshot is Tacoma’s youngest students will not begin returning to class next week as hoped, and the timeline for that to happen is up in the air.
“We’re just trying to understand what we have to do to open safely for staff and students,” TPS spokesman Dan Voelpel told The News Tribune on Friday.
On Thursday, district officials referred to new state guidance on face masks to explain an abrupt decision to cancel a move to a hybrid education model Monday, with the district’s youngest students returning to the classroom for part of the week.
“We have discovered during safety testing of our N95 masks that many are not passing the safety standards,” Voelpel said Thursday. “It has been extremely frustrating to try and follow changing guidance on health and safety issues that we have to put in place.”
On Friday, state Department of Labor and Industries spokeswoman Debbie Abe told The News Tribune there has been no recent change in guidance in face mask requirements for school employees in light of COVID-19.
Abe said the state confirmed the existing requirements to Tacoma Public Schools this week.
Asked if Tacoma was meeting current mask standards, Abe said, “We have not received any complaints about masks in the Tacoma Public Schools, and we have not done any inspections or compliance activity having to do with masks in that school district.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 9:34 AM.
