Coronavirus updates: State reaches 112,550 cases
Updated at 4 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Thursday reported 1,070 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 new deaths.
Pierce County reported 187 new cases and two deaths on Thursday. Pierce County had a total of 199 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 112,550 cases and 2,431 deaths, up from 111,480 cases and 2,416 deaths on Wednesday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 29,3136cases and 822 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 12,103 cases and 278 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 11,046.
All counties in Washington have cases.
CHI Franciscan offering flu vaccinations
Updated at 2:10 p.m.
CHI Franciscan, along with community organizations, are providing free drive-thru flu vaccinations in Pierce and Kitsap counties.
No appointments are needed. Additional details on local drive-thru events are below.
Pierce County
Nov. 7, 2020
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Bethel Middle School (22001 38th Avenue East Spanaway, WA 98387)
Nov. 14, 2020
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Old Rite Aid Parking Lot - Entrance on either 11th or Earnest Brazil (1105 MLK JR Way Tacoma, WA 98405)
Nov. 21, 2020
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Lakewood Towne Center Parking Lot – Behind Barnes & Noble (5731 Main St SW Lakewood, WA 98499)
Dec. 5, 2020
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
Location: Tanbara Family Medical Center (1708 East 44th Street Tacoma, WA 98404)
Kitsap County
Nov. 14, 2020
Time: 10:00am-3:00pm
Location: Peninsula Community Health Services Wheaton Way Medical Clinic (2508 Wheaton Way Bremerton, WA 98310)
Tacoma Public Utilities extends deadline for small businesses to apply for CARES Act funds to Nov. 11
Updated at 2:10 p.m.
Tacoma Public Utilities extended the deadline for small businesses in Tacoma impacted by COVID-19 to apply for a utility bill relief program. Applications can now be submitted up to midnight on Nov. 11.
The funds are a component of the City of Tacoma’s Coronavirus Relief Funds from the federal CARES Act that were allocated to cities as part of Washington State’s response to COVID-19. Businesses located within the city limits could qualify for up to $750 on utility charges incurred since March 17, 2020.
To qualify, small businesses need to have an open account with TPU, be located within the City of Tacoma, have 50 or less employees, and operate from a brick and mortar building.
Applications can be submitted at MyTPU.org/SmallBizAssistance. Applicants need their account number and other basic information about their business to complete the application.
State reports 1,469 new cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 1,469 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 new deaths. The mark is the highest single-day total since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous high of 1,056 on July 6.
Pierce County reported 214 new cases and two deaths on Wednesday, a single-day case total which was by far the highest ever since the start of the pandemic. The previous single-day total was 138 cases on Oct. 22.
Pierce County had a total of 197 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 111,480 cases and 2,416 deaths, up from 110,011 cases and 2,400 deaths on Tuesday.
King County continues to have the highest numbers in Washington, with 28,926 cases and 822 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 12,061 cases and 279 deaths. Pierce is third with cases at 10,879.
All counties in Washington have cases.
Tacoma hospital now reporting 20 COVID cases, 6 of them unrelated to initial outbreak
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
St. Joseph Medical Center this week announced it was going to expand surveillance testing after more cases of COVID-19 were detected among staff.
On Wednesday, the CHI Franciscan hospital reported two more employee cases of COVID-19, separate from an initial outbreak of 14 cases tied to the building’s seventh floor.
“The second round of surveillance testing discovered two new employee cases. Contact tracing has been completed for these employees, as well as the four additional staff members reported last week. All have been linked to community spread and are not related to the cluster of cases on the seventh floor through known exposure to positive staff or patients,” the hospital said in a statement issued Wednesday.
On Oct. 30, the hospital reported four other cases among staff unrelated to the seventh-floor cluster, bringing to six the total cases unrelated to the seventh-floor outbreak.
The seventh-floor cluster involves 10 employees and four patients. The outbreak was first made public Oct. 22, involving two patients and one worker.
The hospital has been working with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department on case investigations.
The hospital said this week: “Based on the latest guidance from TPCHD, St. Joseph Medical Center is expanding surveillance testing to personnel throughout the hospital, and current patients who have not been tested within the past 48 hours. This increased surveillance testing effort is out of an abundance of caution to help minimize any potential spread.”
Cal player tests positive for coronavirus, game in jeopardy
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
California’s season-opening game Saturday night against Washington is in jeopardy following a positive coronavirus test Wednesday on the Golden Bears that has caused what coach Justin Wilcox said is a “significant” number of players needing contact tracing.
Wilcox said Cal’s athletic department was in contact with Washington officials Wednesday night about the game scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. PST kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.
When asked whether the game could be postponed, Wilcox said, “That’s fair.”
“If it is feasible for us to play we are going to play the game,” Wilcox said on a Zoom call. “Are there hurdles? There are hurdles, yes. With the players in question the game is in jeopardy. If we have the bodies available to play the game we will play the game. Several people are being held out and that’s a legitimate threat to the game.”
Wednesday’s practice was limited and some team drills were not doable based on the number of players held out. Wilcox wouldn’t specify how many players were sidelined.
The player with a positive COVID-19 test is asymptomatic. He took his regular daily antigen test and then a supplemental PCR test, which also showed a positive result. This marked the first positive test on Cal’s football team since practices began last month.
“It’s a tricky situation as we all know. We are glad to report that the one positive is asymptomatic and everybody’s healthy. But the result of the contact tracing is significant,” Wilcox said. “We will hopefully learn in the short term where that leads us, but it’s a significant hurdle.”
Wilcox said he hoped to know later Wednesday or Thursday whether those players in contact tracing would be available to play Saturday.
“Hopefully very soon,” he said. “We’ll need to know shortly.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 9:46 AM.
