Lag in data reporting leads to only 6 new COVID-19 cases for Pierce County on Monday
Pierce County reported six new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday and no additional deaths.
The county’s totals are now at 2,290 cases and 84 deaths since the county’s first case was reported March 6, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
The health department noted in its Monday update that the new case count “is low because of a data reporting lag from the state reporting system that provides us with positive COVID-19 tests.”
Pierce County had 235 new cases in the past 14 days, an average of 16.8 new cases each day. There have been 26.1 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department website says.
Under Washington’s Safe Start Recovery Phase 2 guidelines, the target for counties is 25 or fewer new cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days. Last week, daily new case totals were climbing into the double digits, as high as 33 on June 19.
As of Monday, the county reported an estimated 418 active cases.
Daily case totals can change as the county receives new information about cases, finds duplicate data or is assigned cases originally attributed to other counties.
There have been 34,740 tests conducted in the county with positive results at 6.6%, according to the state Department of Health.
Testing is available at various sites in the county, including free drive-thru self-administered testing at the Tacoma Dome, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays through the end of June. Participants must register in advance either the day before or that day: www.krogerhealth.com/covidtesting or call 888-852-2567 and select Option 3.
Tiffany Sanders, corporate affairs manager for QFC, told The News Tribune on Monday that the site, offered by Kroger, has administered about 750 tests so far this month.
“We’d like to increase that number,” she added.
Sea Mar Community Health Centers also offer free COVID-19 testing in Tacoma.
Drive-thru and walk-up testing testing are available at Sea Mar Tacoma Medical Center, 1112 S. Cushman Ave. Tacoma. Testing hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. You must call in advance 253-593-2144 to schedule an appointment.
For more information on additional local testing sites, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
Monday’s geographical case totals are listed below with Sunday’s totals in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 50 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 159 (no change)
▪ East Pierce County: 60 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 105 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 74 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 60 (no change)
▪ Graham: 71 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 9 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 60 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 236 (no change)
▪ Parkland: 132 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 163 (162)
▪ South Hill: 116 (no change)
▪ South Pierce County: 45 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 23 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 76 (75)
▪ Tacoma: 744 (742)
▪ University Place: 93 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 14 (13)
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we are reporting coronavirus numbers
The News Tribune reports confirmed coronavirus cases as listed by the Washington Department of Health and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department in their daily updates.
The state total includes all cases submitted by county health departments by 11:59 p.m. the previous day and is updated once a day by 6 p.m. on its website. Its numbers only include the cases the health departments have reported directly to the state. In some cases, county health departments have reported cases publicly but not to the state health department by the daily deadline, leading to different totals on occasion.
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department updates its total by 2 p.m. each day on its website, and consists of all new confirmed cases reported by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 2:51 PM.
