Coronavirus updates: Gov. Inslee urges safe holiday plans, Tacoma Fire faces service cuts
The Washington state Department of Health reported 3,345 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 deaths on Thursday. The numbers represent two days’ worth of data. State DOH offices were closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.
Pierce County reported 245 cases Thursday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 207 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 123,356 cases and 2,507 deaths, up from 120,011 cases and 2,482 deaths Tuesday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Thirty-one people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 24, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Nov. 1, the most recent date with complete data, 6,553 specimens were collected statewide, with 7.8% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 5.1%. More than 2.6 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 32,473 cases and 838 deaths. Yakima County is second, with 12,303 cases and 281 deaths. Pierce is close behind with cases at 12,296, according to the state’s tally.
All counties in Washington have cases. Seven counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 16.2 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 38.2 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States, at 175.5. Vermont is the lowest, at 6.1.
There have been more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 242,577 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.
Gov. Jay Inslee addressed state Thursday (Nov. 12), urged safe holiday plans
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee and Trudi Inslee addressed the public 5:30 p.m. Thursday, with “an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the state,” according to a press release.
The address came two days after state and local health officials warned that a surge in COVID-19 cases has accelerated statewide and urged Washingtonians to recommit to preventive measures to avoid overwhelming hospitals and prompting further state actions.
Gov. Inslee did not announce any new restrictions. He told the public that “such measures are actively under consideration,” according to the email, and he expects to announce decisions early next week, possibly as soon as Monday, on steps to be taken.
Staff with Inslee’s office have reached out to “stakeholders in various sectors and industries” for “input on proposals to restrict activities,” the email reads.
The governor also weighed in on Thanksgiving, saying people should change plans for those and other gatherings, along with holiday travel, to curb the ongoing surge.
The Inslees did not take questions from reporters after the address, which was live-streamed via TVW.
Fauci doesn’t think COVID-19 will be eradicated but ‘help is on the way’ with vaccine
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said he believes “help is on the way” with a COVID-19 vaccine — but the virus won’t be completely eradicated.
Fauci said Thursday during a webinar hosted by policy institute Chatham House that he doesn’t think people will become complacent because of reported advancements toward a coronavirus vaccine, CNBC first reported.
“I think the opposite. ... I really do” Fauci said. “The cavalry is coming but don’t put your weapons down, you better keep fighting because they are not here yet. Help is on the way, but it isn’t here yet.”
Fauci also cited the response to HIV, Ebola, Zika virus and other outbreaks, stating that he doesn’t think the virus will be completely erased.
“I doubt we are going to eradicate this. I think we need to plan that this is something we may need to maintain control over chronically. It may be something that becomes endemic, that we have to just be careful about,” he said. “Certainly, it is not going to be a pandemic for a lot longer because I believe the vaccines are going to turn that around.”
Fauci’s comments came days after Pfizer released early results from its coronavirus vaccine trial, saying the vaccine is 90% effective in preventing the disease in volunteers who haven’t had COVID-19, The New York Times reported.
Coronavirus cases have increased by 40% in the past week in the seven-day average, Axios reported, and the U.S. is now averaging around 119,000 new cases a day. Cases have spiked in 45 states and held steady in the other five.
The U.S. has more than 10.4 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 242,000 deaths as of Nov. 12, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Fauci has called for a better public health response and said he is “worried about winter in the U.S.,” The Wall Street Journal reported. He also said there was “no appetite” for a renewed lockdown.
Already swamped with calls, Tacoma Fire faces cuts to engine service levels next year
The city of Tacoma may see a reduction in fire engine service next year.
City Council is considering a proposal for the 2021-22 budget that would reduce the Tacoma Fire Department’s fleet by three engines.
The reduction has led to Tacoma Firefighters IAFF Local 31 union to speak out in a letter to the public with concerns about what it would mean for the city’s service levels.
“Despite our hard work, we have now been told that the Tacoma City Council is reducing the number of fire engines that are available to provide service to you, the taxpayers of Tacoma,” the letter states. “The plan is to reduce your fire protection nearly 20 percent. That means when you call 911, that fire engine and emergency medical crew you thought were coming may no longer be there.”
TFD was facing $12 million in cuts, including 45 layoffs, due to a budget deficit stemming from COVID-19 impacts, TFD Chief Tory Green said in a city council meeting in October.
TFD proposed launching its own basic life support service, consisting of five units, which is currently contracted out to a separate company, AMR. TFD already supplies advanced life support transportation. Advance life support is for patients that require immediate assistance, while patients in need of basic life support can wait longer.
By providing basic life support services, TFD can participate in a Great Emergency Medical Transportation program that opens a new funding stream of around $25 million in the next biennium and prevents layoffs.
But it also means that TFD needs to move three engines worth of firefighters to basic life support transport units because it doesn’t have enough staff for both.
“There’s no way you can take three engines out of our system and not have longer response times,” Green said Tuesday.
Craig Sailor, Allison Needles and Sara Gentzler contributed to this report.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 9:18 AM.
