Statewide coronavirus deaths now at 40. New cases reported in Pierce County
The state’s total confirmed COVID-19 cases grew to 642 on Saturday, with 40 deaths, up from 568 and 37 on Friday.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported seven new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, raising the county total to 26 positive cases.
The new Pierce County cases include a man in his 20s from Puyallup, two women in their 40s from Tacoma and Bonney Lake, a man and woman in their 50s from Tacoma, a man in his 50s from Sumner and a man in his 70s from Spanaway.
No deaths from COVID-19 have been reported in Pierce County.
Thurston County reported no new cases on Saturday.
State numbers
Total tests run statewide on Saturday were at 7,764.
King County has now reported 387 cases and 35 deaths; Snohomish County as of Saturday reported 154 cases and 4 deaths. Grant County had one death.
Of the reported deaths in King County, 27 are associated with Life Care Center of Kirkland.
The reports from the individual county health departments show that 16 of the state’s 39 counties are reporting at least one case as of Saturday.
Concert attendee tests positive
An audience member from Seattle who attended a March 2 concert at Tacoma’s Temple Beth El has subsequently tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Rabbi Bruce Kadden.
About 300 people attended “Violins of Hope — Music of Remembrance” at the synagogue. The event featured classical music played by members of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra using instruments that belonged to Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust.
“We just found out last night,” Kadden said Saturday of the test result. The temple leadership put together an email for the community and notified as many people as possible. The event was free and unticketed.
The person had family members who also attended the concert but they have not tested positive, Kadden said.
Gov. Jay Inslee’s ban Wednesday that forbids gatherings larger than 250 people would have forced the cancellation or limited the concert if it was being held this weekend.
“At that point in time, people weren’t thinking in that regard,” Kadden said.
If you have the symptoms, assume it’s COVID-19
“Currently, anyone with a fever and cough should assume their illness could be COVID-19 and take steps to protect others in the community and household from the disease,” Public Health — Seattle & King County said Saturday.
“If you are sick, you need to stay home and stay away from other people in your home,” the directive continued. “If you need to go into public to visit a healthcare provider, wear a mask and practice meticulous hand washing.”
The public health agency said laboratory testing is becoming more broadly available but that doesn’t mean the system has the capacity to collect and test samples as rapidly as they would like.
The agency also noted that there is currently no medication to treat COVID-19.
UW Virology maxed out
The University of Washington virology department tested potential coronavirus samples from 2,360 people on Friday. Of those, eight percent tested positive.
“We have reached our daily testing capacity for now, until new instruments come on line next week,” the virology department tweeted Saturday.
Stevens Pass puts slopes in deep freeze
Stevens Pass ski area will close at the end of the day Saturday and stay shuttered through March 22, owner Vail Resorts said.
Vail was closing all of its North American resorts as a precautionary move to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, they said.
Employees would be paid during the period and not lose sick or vacation hours, Vail said.
Leave something on the shelf
You have enough hand sanitizer, toilet paper and disinfectant wipes and you know it.
“But before you sweep the store aisles clean of these items, you might want to remind yourself of the harm you’re causing to yourself and your community by overstocking,” says the state Department of Health is a message late Saturday. “The more you overstock those supplies, the less is available for your sick neighbors, and for doctors, dentists, and emergency response personnel. Doing our part to keep vulnerable people healthy includes making sure they have access to necessary supplies.”
There’s no nationwide shortage of these products, DOH said. They’re just hard to find because shoppers clean them out as soon as stores stock them.
An employee at the Tacoma Costco said a new shipment of hand sanitizer was gone within 45 minutes Saturday.
“We want the public to be assured that if they will return to their normal pace of grocery shopping that there will be an adequate supply of products for their consumption,” said Jan Gee, president and CEO of the Washington Food Industry Association and its educational foundation.
Health experts agree that the best protection from infection is through good hygiene and social distancing.
This story was originally published March 14, 2020 at 1:27 PM.
