Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 164 new cases, 9 deaths
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Monday, Jan. 4.
Pierce County reports 164 new cases, 9 deaths
Updated 4 p.m.
Pierce County reported 164 new COVID-19 cases Monday. Nine additional deaths were also reported.
The county’s totals are now at 26,515 cases and 307 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
Monday’s reported deaths included: A Tacoma woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions, a Tacoma man in his 60s with no known underlying health conditions, a Lakewood man in his 80s with underlying health conditions, a Lakewood woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions, a Lakewood woman in her 60s with underlying health conditions, a Southwest Pierce County man in his 80s with underlying health conditions, a Central Pierce County man in his 80s with underlying health conditions, a Spanaway man in his 70s with underlying health conditions and a man in his 70s experiencing homelessness with underlying health conditions.
“We are reporting our highest number of deaths today,” the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department wrote on Twitter. “Most of these occurred in the last two weeks of December.”
The department does not report virus-related deaths “until the death certificate process is complete.”
“Because of the holidays, we may see more daily case count fluctuations,” the department wrote.
The county has reported 3,672 cases in the past 14 days and its 14-day case rate per 100,000 is now 407.1. With a six-day data lag required in the state, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 366.69. Average cases per day in the past 14 days are at 262.3.
There are an estimated 9,099 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: 743 (736)
▪ Central Pierce County: 1,265 (1,263)
▪ East Pierce County: 1,112 (1,099)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 1,113 (1,103)
▪ Frederickson: 1,041 (1,031)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 851 (843)
▪ Graham: 917 (906)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 249 (244)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 919 (909)
▪ Lakewood: 2,134 (2,123)
▪ Parkland: 1,281 (1,277)
▪ Puyallup: 1,627 (1,620)
▪ South Hill: 1,556 (1,548)
▪ South Pierce County: 810 (804)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 360 (358)
▪ Spanaway: 1,266 (1,256)
▪ Tacoma: 7,638 (7,611)
▪ University Place: 910 (904)
▪ Unknown: 723 (716)
WIAA reschedules board meeting in anticipation of new guidance
Updated 1 p.m.
The Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association has delayed Monday’s scheduled executive board meeting to Wednesday in anticipation of “revised metrics and guidelines” from the governor’s office regarding school-based athletics and activities, the association wrote in a release.
“The Executive Board is scheduled to review the current WIAA Season Schedules and plan for adjustments as necessary with the goal of providing opportunities for student-participants in every sport and activity based on the mandatory COVID-19 guidelines,” the release says.
“While the Executive Board will provide a uniform season schedule concluding in regional culminating events, it has granted each WIAA league or district around the state the ability to schedule seasons that best fit their local communities.”
The WIAA said in November it was planning to have high school sports resume in February.
NCAA to play all March Madness men’s games in Indiana
Updated 10:30 a.m.
All 67 men’s basketball games in the annual NCAA Tournament will be played in Indiana in March, the NCAA announced Monday.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the entirety of the March Madness tournament, including the Final Four, will be played at sites in one state in an attempt to avoid cancellation of the event for a second consecutive season.
Early round games are typically played at regional sites across the country before teams convene at one location for the Final Four and the national championship game.
Most games of the 2021 tournament are scheduled to be played in Indianapolis, the report says.
“The NCAA had said it intended to play the entire tourney in one locale and that Indianapolis, where the governing body is headquartered, would be the likely place,” the report says. “The Final Four had already been scheduled to take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in April.”
Hosting sites include Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena at Purdue and Assembly Hall in Bloomington, the report says.
Ball State, Butler, Indiana, IUPUI, Purdue and the Horizon League will be the tournament co-hosts.
The tournament’s championship weekend is scheduled for April 3 and April 5. Earlier rounds have not yet been scheduled.
COVID-19 testing is planned for players, coaches, administrators and officials.
How many fans will be permitted to watch at the sites has not been determined.
State updates case, death count Sunday after 2-day delay
Updated 9 a.m.
In its first dashboard update since New Year’s Eve, the Washington State Department of Health reported more than 8,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
The DOH did not update its counts on New Year’s Day, and was delayed Saturday due to “data processing challenges.”
Statewide totals have reached 255,396 cases and 3,459 deaths. The case total includes 10,015 cases that are listed as probable.
Thursday’s count was 246,752 total cases and 3,461 deaths.
Previous case and death counts are revised daily by the DOH.
The DOH website cautions that Sunday’s case totals could include up to 1,700 duplicates because negative test results from Nov. 21-30 are incomplete.
“Therefore, testing numbers and case counts should be interpreted with caution,” the site says. “The Epidemiological Curves tab is the most accurate representation of COVID-19 activity and is updated daily as new cases are identified and duplicates are resolved.”
King County continues to report the state’s highest counts for cases (65,265) and deaths (1,049).
Pierce County reported 189 new cases Sunday, bringing its totals to 26,351 cases and 298 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
Each of the state’s 39 counties have reported positive cases and all but six have reported more than 200.
Pierce County reports 189 new cases Sunday
Updated 9 a.m.
Pierce County reported 189 new COVID-19 cases Sunday. No additional deaths were reported.
The county’s totals are now at 26,351 cases and 298 deaths since the first confirmed case was reported in March.
“Increased testing over the last several weeks continues to catch many new cases,” the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department wrote on Twitter. “With the holidays, we may see more daily case count fluctuations.
“So, the 14-day average offers the most accurate look at current COVID-19 disease burden in Pierce County.”
The county has reported 3,634 cases in the past 14 days and its 14-day case rate per 100,000 is now 402.9. With a six-day data lag required in the state, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 368.6. Average cases per day in the past 14 days are at 259.6.
There are an estimated 9,035 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: 736 (728)
▪ Central Pierce County: 1,263 (1,255)
▪ East Pierce County: 1,099 (1,083)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 1,103 (1,093)
▪ Frederickson: 1,031 (1,028)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 843 (831)
▪ Graham: 906 (898)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 244 (240)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 909 (906)
▪ Lakewood: 2,123 (2,111)
▪ Parkland: 1,277 (1,267)
▪ Puyallup: 1,620 (1,606)
▪ South Hill: 1,548 (1,535)
▪ South Pierce County: 804 (796)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 358 (255)
▪ Spanaway: 1,256 (1,247)
▪ Tacoma: 7,611 (7,581)
▪ University Place: 904 (892)
▪ Unknown: 716 (710)
Debbie Cockrell and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Pierce County reports 164 new cases, 9 deaths."
