Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 101 new cases, 2 deaths
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Monday, Dec. 28.
Pierce County reports 101 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
Updated 2:30 p.m.
Pierce County reported 101 new COVID-19 cases Monday, though “holiday-related delays resulted in lower than expected cases today,” the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department wrote on Twitter.
Two additional deaths — a Tacoma man in his 80s and a Tacoma woman in her 90s — were also reported. Both had underlying health conditions.
The county’s totals are now at 24,569 cases and 283 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
The county has reported 3,325 cases in the past 14 days and its 14-day case rate per 100,000 is now 368.6. With a six-day data lag required in the state, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 539.9. Average cases per day in the past 14 days are at 237.5.
There are an estimated 8,511 confirmed cases still active in the county.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. More information on testing sites is available on the health department’s website.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Monday’s geographic case totals for Pierce County are listed below with Sunday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 681 (679)
▪ Central Pierce County: 1,176 (1,171)
▪ East Pierce County: 979 (972)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 1,024 (1,023)
▪ Frederickson: 976 (971)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 782 (781)
▪ Graham: 827 (819)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 228 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 867 (862)
▪ Lakewood: 1,997 (1,995)
▪ Parkland: 1,210 (1,205)
▪ Puyallup: 1,531 (1,522)
▪ South Hill: 1,447 (1,437)
▪ South Pierce County: 758 (754)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 326 (325)
▪ Spanaway: 1,149 (1,146)
▪ Tacoma: 7,124 (7,102)
▪ University Place: 856 (852)
▪ Unknown: 631 (624)
Puyallup School District shares plans for K-1 reopening
Updated 11:15 a.m.
The Puyallup School District has shared plans to bring back kindergarten and first grade students in January.
The district first announced its intention to have students back in school on Jan. 12 earlier this month.
The phased in process begins with the youngest students because previous state requirements allowed even counties with the highest rates of COVID-19 case counts to bring back students in small groups, Sarah Gillispie, the district’s communications director, told The Puyallup Herald last week.
Updated state guidance has further defined “small group” for returning class sizes and helped the district plan the return of older students, Gillispie said.
The revised guidelines also say in-person learning for elementary students is recommended for counties where new case counts have dropped below 350 cases per day per 100,000 residents. Pierce County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 was 378.6 as of Sunday.
Along with other districts in the county, Puyallup brought back small groups of students in October. Since reopening to those 850 students, the district has reported 64 positive COVID-19 tests.
Adding kindergartners and first graders will send about 2,400 additional students back to school who will rotate between a two-days per week in-person schedule. In-person classes will be divided into groups with no more than 15 students.
About 75% of kindergarten and first grade students are expected to participate in the new hybrid plan, Gillispie said, with the other 25% continuing distance learning.
Safety protocols including having parents submitting an “attestation form” regarding the health of their student each day, requiring all students and staff wearing face masks and social distancing practices will be followed to return.
“Classrooms will become that sole cohort of students,” Gillispie said. “We want to minimize movement and exposure to other students.”
Families can refer to the district’s playbook on returning to school for details about how confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be handled.
President signs COVID-19 pandemic relief package
Updated 9 a.m.
President Donald Trump has signed the $900 billion COVID-19 pandemic relief package passed by Congress last week, according to a report from the Associated Press, avoiding a federal government shutdown.
The new package will provide financial aid to millions of Americans, $1.4 trillion to fund government agencies through September and “contains other end-of-session priorities such as an increase in food stamp benefits,” the report says.
Trump signed the deal Sunday in Florida after previously pushing for “larger, $2,000 relief checks and scaled-back spending even though the bill had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins,” the report says.
Under the new bill, millions of American adults will receive $600 stimulus payments with some couples and adults with dependents set to receive more.
Enhanced federal unemployment benefits are also included in the package, with qualifying adults able to receive $300 for at least 10 weeks.
The New York Times has a page on its website answering frequently asked questions about the incoming stimulus payments and other benefits in the new relief package.
Pierce County reports 148 new COVID-19 cases
Updated 9 a.m.
Pierce County reported 148 new COVID-19 cases Sunday. No additional deaths were reported.
The county’s totals are now at 24,468 cases and 281 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
The county has reported 3,415 cases in the past 14 days and its 14-day case rate per 100,000 is now 378.6. With a six-day data lag required in the state, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 560. Average cases per day in the past 14 days are at 243.9.
There are an estimated 8,574 confirmed cases still active in the county.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. More information on testing sites is available on the health department’s website.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Sunday’s geographic case totals for Pierce County are listed below with Saturday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 679 (675)
▪ Central Pierce County: 1,171 (1,166)
▪ East Pierce County: 972 (962)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 1,023 (1,018)
▪ Frederickson: 971 (957)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 781 (no change)
▪ Graham: 819 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 228 (225)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 862 (855)
▪ Lakewood: 1,995 (1,979)
▪ Parkland: 1,205 (1,201)
▪ Puyallup: 1,522 (1,519)
▪ South Hill: 1,437 (1,147)
▪ South Pierce County: 754 (741)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 325 (322)
▪ Spanaway: 1,146 (1,137)
▪ Tacoma: 7,102 (7,065)
▪ University Place: 852 (849)
▪ Unknown: 624 (622)
Washington state no longer reporting cases on Sundays
Updated 9 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health is no longer updating COVID-19 case numbers and deaths on Sundays, as of earlier this month.
Monday updates will now include case and hospitalization counts from Sundays.
Updates are typically posted daily in the afternoon or early evening.
Statewide totals had reached 236,719 cases and 3,184 deaths as of Saturday’s update. The case total includes 8,924 cases listed as probable.
The department also reported Saturday that total case counts “may include up to 200 duplicates.”
Josephine Peterson, Craig Sailor and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 101 new cases, 2 deaths."
