Coronavirus updates: State passes 205k cases
Updated at 9 a.m.
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,730 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 35 deaths Tuesday.
Pierce County reported 225 cases Tuesday and two new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 261 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are at 205,069 cases and 2,953 deaths, up from 203,339 cases and 2,918 deaths Monday. Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019. The DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Hospitalizations continue to increase with 83 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to Washington state hospitals on Nov. 26, the most recent date with complete data. Preliminary reports indicate average daily admittances were 113 in early December.
Approximately 12.9% (1,181) of all staffed adult acute care hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients on Tuesday. In the state’s intensive care units, 21.6% (260) of staffed adult beds were occupied by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients.
On Dec. 4, the most recent date with testing data, 24,943 specimens were collected statewide, with 11.6% testing positive. The average positive test rate for the seven days prior was 12.7%. More than 3.3 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 54,795 cases and 928 deaths. Pierce County is second in cases, with 21,821. Snohomish County has the second highest number of deaths at 314.
All counties in Washington have cases. Only four counties have case counts of fewer than 100.
For the past seven days, Washington had a case rate of 36.8 per 100,000 people. The national rate for the same period is 65.3 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oklahoma has the highest rate in the United States, at 125.5. Hawaii is the lowest, at 7.9.
There have been more than 16.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 302,689 deaths from the virus in the United States as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has the highest number of reported cases and deaths of any nation.
More than 1.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide. Global cases exceed 73 million.
Pierce County has lost too many lives to the COVID-19 pandemic. Help us remember them
Updated at 9 a.m.
As we close out 2020, The News Tribune would like to illuminate the faces behind the numbers. If you’ve lost a loved one to COVID-19 and would like to help tell their story, you can contact us at newstips@thenewstribune.com.
More kids in Mississippi caught COVID from social events rather than school, CDC finds
Updated at 9 a.m.
Mississippi children and teens who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to have attended social gatherings or had visitors over compared to those who received a negative result, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the findings, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found no connection between in-person school attendance or child care and an increased risk of contracting the coronavirus.
The study examined how “school, community and close contact exposure” contribute to the virus’ spread and found that social distancing and consistent mask wearing remain the best ways of slowing transmission among children, especially in classrooms and other social settings.
Mississippi’s top health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, shared the report on his Twitter page, writing that increased risk of transmission puts “families and [the] vulnerable in harm’s way.”
The Magnolia State reported over 2,200 new COVID-19 cases as of Monday, and 48 new deaths, according to data from the Mississippi State Department of Health. The state’s southern region also saw its highest daily increase in new cases over the weekend, setting a new record since the start of the pandemic in March, the Sun Herald reported.
The CDC report outlines the results of a case-control study involving Mississippi children ages 18 and under who, as reported by a parent or a guardian, received a positive coronavirus result between Sept. 1 and Nov. 5, 2020. Children with negative test results were then “frequency matched” with case-patients who tested positive for the virus.
There were 397 participants in all, including 154 coronavirus-positive children and 243 coronavirus-negative children, according to the report.
NFL tells teams: no playoff bubbles. It’s exactly what Pete Carroll, Seahawks wanted
Updated at 9 a.m.
If the Seahawks make the playoffs again, they can keep fighting COVID-19 their way.
Because it works.
The NFL and its players’ union decided Tuesday to scrap the idea of local “playoff bubbles,” teams qualifying for the postseason having to sequester in separate hotels every day between playoff games.
The league had been discussing its playoff teams possibly tightening the bubble around each of them. It would have been a version of the postseason bubbles the NBA and NHL used with specific, neutral game sites to successful complete their playoffs during the cornonavirus pandemic this past summer.
The NFL months ago determined a single site for all postseason games—as the NBA had in Orlando, Florida—or two playoff bubble cities, as the NHL had in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta, was not feasible. Pro football has more than twice the number of players on each team’s roster, not to mention the dozens of coaches and more staff and medical-support personnel for a much larger traveling party to effectively contain and maintain inside one site for an extended period.
The NFL informed teams Tuesday night they “cannot require players and staff members to stay at a hotel during the playoffs other than the night prior to a game,” in a memorandum obtained by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Pelissero reported “the choice to forego local bubbles was recommended by the league and NFL Players Association medical experts based on COVID-19 testing data. The NFL and NFLPA are pleased with numbers related to the coronavirus and therefore sticking ‘with what works’ for the postseason, Pelissero relayed from the league memo to teams Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 9:12 AM.
