Coronavirus updates: State reaches 131,532 cases
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,492 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29 deaths on Monday. The deaths represent the past three days as the department does not report those numbers on weekends.
Pierce County reported 218 cases Monday and one new death. Pierce County has a total of 212 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 131,532 cases and 2,548 deaths, up from 130,040 cases Sunday and 2,519 deaths Friday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Hospitalizations of confirmed COVID-19 patients continue to climb with 49 people being admitted to Washington state hospitals on Oct. 28, the most recent date with complete data. Average daily hospitalizations peaked in early April at 78.
On Nov. 5, the most recent date with complete data, a record high 24,188 specimens were collected statewide, with 8.2% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 6.6%. More than 2.7 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 34,892 cases and 838 deaths. Pierce County is second, with 13,200 cases, according to the state’s tally. That number differs from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s tally due to lags in reporting data. Yakima County has the second highest number of deaths at 289.
All counties in Washington have cases. Six counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 24.1 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 46.2 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. North Dakota has the highest rate in the United States, at 198.9 Hawaii is the lowest, at 5.5.
There have been more than 11.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 247,116 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 54 million.
COVID hospitalizations up 89 percent for one local health system since start of month
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
As new cases of COVID-19 surge in Pierce County, so have hospitalizations.
State data on hospitalizations, which is incomplete for the current week, indicated on Monday that Pierce County was seeing patient spikes akin to late March.
Tacoma-based MultiCare told The News Tribune on Monday that it had 62 COVID patients, up from 56 on Friday and a 41 percent increase from Nov. 1, across its six hospitals in the Puget Sound region.
The system’s two hospitals in Spokane County, MultiCare Deaconess Hospital and MultiCare Valley Hospital, had 25 COVID patients Monday, up from 15 patients on Friday and a 57 percent increase since the start of the month.
On Monday, Tacoma-based CHI Franciscan told The News Tribune it had 85 known COVID-19 patients admitted across its eight hospitals in the region.
“Since Nov. 1, we have seen an 89 percent increase in COVID patients in our system, and a 27 percent increase since Friday,” the health system said in a statement.
Hospital capacity as of Nov. 9 was holding steady according to Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health’s dashboard. Its next update is Wednesday and could tell a different story given the most recent spikes.
As a result of the surging cases, both CHI Franciscan and MultiCare have increased visitor restrictions at their hospitals.
“We are implementing Phase 3 visitor restrictions across our acute care hospitals, which generally means no visitors except in limited circumstances, such as beginning or end of life care. This decision is intended to limit potential spread as increased cases in the community increases the risk in our hospitals,” CHI Franciscan stated Monday.
94 people test positive at Washington state care facility
Updated at 9:30 a.m.
A long-term care facility in Washington state reported that 94 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since late October, its second outbreak since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Snohomish Health District spokeswoman Heather Thomas confirmed that 53 residents and 41 staff members at Josephine Caring Community in Stanwood have contracted the virus, The Seattle Times reported Saturday.
It is unclear how many people have been hospitalized. Thomas said in an email over the weekend that at least “a few” were taken to the hospital and that she didn’t know of any deaths.
It’s the second outbreak connected to the facility about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Seattle. In the first, the facility reported a handful of infections in March, which grew to at least 34 cases, including six deaths as of April 17.
COVID-19 has ravaged senior care facilities nationwide, and the number of infections is rising again in states hit hard by a new surge heading into the cold-weather season.
Long-term care facilities account for about 1% of the U.S. population but represent 40% of COVID-19 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
“As we learned early on in this pandemic, COVID-19 infections can spread incredibly fast in congregate living environments like these,” said Dr. Chris Spitters, county health officer. “This is why we have taken such drastic measures in Snohomish County and statewide to protect these vulnerable populations.”
The state Department of Health said about 8,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been connected to facilities statewide as of Nov. 9, including 1,354 deaths. In Snohomish County, 910 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been associated with long-term care facilities, including 122 deaths since March.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 9:34 AM.
