Pierce County’s confirmed coronavirus cases up to 19 as state death toll increases
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported two more cases of COVID-19 on Friday, raising the county total to 19 positive cases.
The new cases include a Tacoma woman in her 30s and a Spanaway man in his 60s.
No deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in Pierce County.
On Friday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced closure of all public and private schools in the state for six weeks, one day after closures announced for districts in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties.
The schools will be closed March 17 through at least April 24.
The ban on gatherings of 250 and more also now is in place statewide.
He also announced he would restrict activities at colleges, with no in-person courses also through April 24. Labs and clinics on campuses can continue, however, if social distancing is enforced.
In a news conference Friday, Inslee said the state’s total confirmed cases had grown to 568, with 37 deaths, up from 457 and 31 on Thursday.
Total tests run statewide on Friday were at 6,569.
As of Friday, 324 tests were known to have been conducted for those in Pierce County, according to Edie Jeffers, spokeswoman for the county’s health department. That represents testing done by the University of Washington’s Department of Virology and the state Public Health Laboratories. Totals from private labs are still not available as they ramp up operations.
King County has now reported 328 cases and 32 deaths; Snohomish County as of Friday reported 133 cases and 4 deaths.
Grant County so far is the only other county reporting a fatal case with one death.
The reports from the individual county health departments now show that 15 of the state’s 39 counties are reporting at least one case as of Friday.
“This is a devilish virus ... this is a tough nut to crack, and one of the reasons we felt we’ve had to be proactive,” Inslee said in reference to the school closures and gatherings ban.
On Friday, President Donald Trump declared the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. The move would free up $50 billion in disaster relief funding nationwide and allows the department of Health and Human Services to waive regulations and laws to help speed coronavirus testing.
Inslee dismissed rumors circulating on social media that a statewide quarantine would soon go into effect.
“There are no known proposals or considerations,” regarding a statewide quarantine. “We have to guard against rumors.”
FIRST POSITIVE CASE WITH PRISON EMPLOYEE
On Friday, the state Department of Corrections reported that it had its first positive COVID-19 case involving an employee at its Monroe Correctional Complex-Washington State Reformatory.
In a statement, the department said:
“The employee last worked on March 8, was tested on March 10 and received results back (March 12). The employee will remain at home away from others until they recover.”
The Monroe facility noted: “Corrections has identified employees considered to be in close contact with the employee and is in the process of notifying them. Anyone confirmed to have been in close contact will be asked to self-quarantine at home until the suggested 14-day quarantine period ends.”
“MCC is also placing WSRU A and B units where the employee worked into precautionary quarantine for 10 days until the 14-day quarantine period ends with modified restricted movement to protect them. MCC staff is continuing to thoroughly clean and disinfect the affected units and encouraging other precautionary activities, including providing extra cleaning supplies to the incarcerated individuals.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 2:25 PM.
