Coronavirus updates: Trump tests positive for COVID-19; Pierce County schools could stay in remote learning
The Washington state Department of Health reported Thursday 564 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
Pierce County reported 45 cases Thursday and no new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 176 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 88,116 cases and 2,132 deaths, up from 87,552 cases and 2,126 deaths Wednesday. 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 Sept. 12, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Sept. 20, the most recent date with complete data, 5,133 specimens were collected statewide, with 3.6% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 3.3%. More than 1.8 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 22,529 cases and 759 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 11,442 cases and 262 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 8,116.
All counties in Washington have cases. Ten counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
On Thursday, Washington had a 1,161-per-100,000-people case rate. The national rate is 2,180, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Louisiana has the highest rate in the United States at 3,594. Vermont is lowest at 280.
There had been more than 7.2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 207,651 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation. More than 1 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 34 million.
Trump, first lady test positive for COVID-19. President experiencing “mild” symptoms
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19, jolting a nation already rocked by the coronavirus pandemic and creating a political earthquake a month out from Election Day.
“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!” Trump wrote overnight on Twitter.
Trump was experiencing “mild” symptoms, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said during brief remarks late Friday morning.
Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume Trump’s responsibilities if he were incapacitated, tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday morning, according to his press secretary.
Other White House press aides said that Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who recently traveled with him, as well as his youngest son Barron, all tested negative on Friday.
Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, also tested positive for the coronavirus, and has “mild” symptoms, The New York Times and MSNBC reported Friday.
“I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result,” Meadows said.
The White House sent out an updated Friday schedule for the president, which did not include a trip to Florida that had been on his previous schedule.
Trump’s Tweet early Friday came hours after reports that one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, had also tested positive.
Washington state Gov. Inslee talks about Boeing 787, fall COVID-19 safety, elections
The governor spoke about the state’s COVID-19 response going into the fall.
After a couple months of a decline in cases there’s been a plateau and now an uptick.
“We cannot let this virus take off,” he said. “... We’re making real progress, but the long-term outlook has to be considered uncertain.”
He said people need to keep taking precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing, and that he thinks the state has done a good job of doing that in communal spaces, such as while shopping.
It’s also important to do those things when visiting the homes of friends and relatives, he said.
“As fall comes, we’ve got to up our game,” and not let “fatigue endanger us,” Inslee said.
Flu vaccine should be considered ‘essential’ this year, state health experts say
Flu season usually arrives along with fall, and state health experts are stressing the importance of getting a flu shot now.
“Think of it as essential to get a flu vaccine this year,” Dr. Kathy Lofy, Washington State Health Officer, said in a statement.
“We should all get a flu vaccine now to help protect ourselves and our communities as we navigate this pandemic together.”
The concern is this: The presence of both viruses could put more people in the hospital and strain Washington’s health care system. While there isn’t a vaccine to prevent COVID-19 yet, there is one to prevent flu.
State health officials recommend everyone 6 months or older get a flu vaccine. Young children, pregnant women, people with underlying health conditions, and those age 65 and older are at high risk of complications from flu illness, which can require hospitalization, and can even be fatal. Getting a flu shot reduces your chances of getting the flu, but does not prevent other respiratory infections.
A break for unemployed Washingtonians has been extended through early November
During the pandemic, job searches have been optional under the Washington state’s Employment Security Department rules for helping slow the spread of coronavirus.
On Thursday, ESD announced that its job search waiver continues through Nov. 9.
According to ESD’s update: “The governor, with support from the Legislature, has announced that job search requirements will remain suspended through Nov. 9. This means the soonest claimants will be required to actively seek work is Nov. 15.”
It added, “You can continue to answer ‘no’ to the job search question on your weekly claim until the suspension is lifted.”
The job search requirement was first suspended in March.
While statewide COVID-19 numbers are down from the summer peaks, the state Department of Health on Sept. 22 described Washington’s COVID-19 transmission rate at a crossroads.
“In parts of the state, declines have stagnated, suggesting we may need to redouble efforts to encourage risk-reducing behaviors. These plateaus have become prominent in Pierce, Spokane, Clark, Benton and Franklin, and they raise cause for concern as risk may increase going into the fall.”
During the “optional” job search phase, ESD still encourages job seekers to participate in online training to gain new skills and/or participate in virtual job fairs.
According to ESD’s weekly report Thursday, initial regular claims applications “remain at elevated levels and are at 237 percent above last year’s weekly new claims applications.”
Trending COVID-19 cases could cause Pierce County schools to stay in remote learning
The upward trend of COVID-19 case counts could put Pierce County schools back into the “high activity level” category sometime next week, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in an update to school districts on Thursday.
In the “high” activity level category, schools are recommended for remote learning, with in-person learning in small groups for highest need students.
The health agency said it was concerned that in 13 out of the past 14 days, the county’s 14-day case rate has increased.
“If this same pattern continues, we expect the rate to go above 75 per 100,000, with the 6-day data lag, sometime next week,” the health department stated. “If we surpass that threshold, Pierce County will move back into the “High” category of the COVID-19 Activity Level per the Department of Health’s Decision Tree for the Provision of In Person Learning.”
Currently, Pierce County is in the “moderate” activity level category with a 14-day case count of 59.3 per 100,000 population (including a 6-day lag for accuracy). In the “moderate” category, schools can start returning elementary students to in-person learning.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said in September that districts could start returning kids to school for in-person learning but cautioned it would help guide schools back to remote learning if the coronavirus case rates increased.
“We heard you ask repeatedly for 2 to 3 weeks of advance notice to allow schools to plan for this outcome,” the health department said in an update on Thursday. “The current trend of COVID-19 cases is an early indicator that we will ask schools to return to remote learning. We encourage you to begin your planning now for how this transition will occur for your school(s) and in the interim, pause bringing back additional students for in-person learning.”
The health department will alert school districts if they should stop in-person learning but said that school districts and private schools will make the final decision.
Allison Needles, Craig Sailor, Debbie Cockrell and Andrew Hammond contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 9:51 AM.
