41 COVID-19 cases in Gig Harbor area; hospital mum

There are now 41 positive cases of COVID-19 in the Gig Harbor area, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

The total number of cases in Pierce County was 688, as of April 5. There have been 10 deaths.

CHI Franciscan has not replied to repeated requests from The Gateway for an update on the number and condition of COVID-19 patients at Gig Harbor’s St. Anthony Hospital.

The health-care system is communicating only through its public-relations firm, Quinn Thomas, in Seattle. In a statement Monday, CHI Franciscan would say only that it has treated 77 confirmed and 42 suspected COVID-19 patients “across the system,” which includes eight regional hospitals.

The last time CHI Franciscan gave figures, two weeks ago, St. Anthony had two confirmed COVID-19 cases.

According to CHI Franciscan, the system’s 10 triage centers, including one in Gig Harbor, have screened 22,089 people for the virus, tested 2,344 and discovered 114 positives.

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 12:00 AM.