Pierce County reports record high number of COVID cases Wednesday as backlog continues
Pierce County reported 711 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and one additional death.
County totals are now 18,915 confirmed cases and 254 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 3,546 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 393.1. Average cases per day over the past 14 days are 253.3.
The health department on Monday cautioned the public that case numbers will fluctuate this week because of data migration to a new case management data tracking system, which launches Thursday, and a backlog of cases.
As of Wednesday, more of the backlog had been processed, leading to a much higher case total. The health department noted Tuesday, “The 14-day average case count offers you the most reliable look at disease rate in our community until post-Leo launch.”
With a six-day data lag required in the state’s Safe Start measurements, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 390.1.
There are an estimated 6,976 still-active cases in the county, and a positivity rate of 12.3 percent as of Nov. 28, the most recent data listed. That’s up from 9.4 percent the week of Nov. 15.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. For more information on testing sites, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
Geographic totals
Wednesday’s geographic case totals for Pierce County are listed below with previous day’s total in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 501 (482)
▪ Central Pierce County: 968 (940)
▪ East Pierce County: 723 (676)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 820 (785)
▪ Frederickson: 753 (723)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 640 (628)
▪ Graham: 615 (582)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 179 (169)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 697 (671)
▪ Lakewood: 1,553 (1,511)
▪ Parkland: 939 (915)
▪ Puyallup: 1,208 (1,166)
▪ South Hill: 1,095 (1,040)
▪ South Pierce County: 579 (561)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 245 (244)
▪ Spanaway: 887 (857)
▪ Tacoma: 5,594 (5,391)
▪ University Place: 698 (670)
▪ Unknown: 221 (180)
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
