Gig Harbor virus cases reach 110 as infections climb across county; Key Peninsula has 21

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 110 in the Gig Harbor area this week, as infection rates continued to climb across Pierce County. Cases on the Key Peninsula remained at 21.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported 115 new cases countywide on Friday, July 24.

The county total was 4,227 cases and 104 deaths.

There have been 1,117 cases in the last 14 days, for an average of 84 new cases a day.

In the Gig Harbor area, North Gig Harbor-Canterwood had 24 cases, the shoreline area from Shore Acres to Point Evans had 10 to 14, the Artondale and Wollochet areas 15 to 19, Fox Island 10 to 14. There were 5 to 9 cases in the Purdy area and 5 to 9 cases on the south end of the Key Peninsula, including Anderson and McNeil Islands.

(The health department does not give exact figures for census tracts, only ranges.)

The fastest-growing age bracket for new cases remained the twenty-somethings — young people aged 20 to 29. They account for 22 percent of new cases, although only 14 percent of the county population. They were followed by those aged 30-29 at 17.6% and those 40-49 at 15.8 percent.

Reopened businesses are also reporting small clusters of cases. The county is seeing 5 to 10 cases a day from businesses.

The good news, said Dr. Anthony Chen, the Tacoma-Pierce County health director, is that the area is not yet seeing a large increase in deaths or hospitalizations.

“We won’t know for a few more weeks whether this good news will hold,” Dr. Chen said. “This disease takes a while to recover from. Some don’t.“

Chen urged people to continue to wear masks when leaving home, to limit interactions to a small circle of friends and family, keep gatherings small — and outside, if possible — and wash hands frequently.

“We all experience a desire to spend time with our friends,” said Dr. Chen in his weekly blog post. “But keep it small—fewer than five people—give people space and wear your face mask. We have seen clusters of dozens of people infected from one house party. Asymptomatic spread and the incubation period of this virus mean you can spread it easily before you know you have it.”

Inslee announces new restrictions

Gov. Jay Inslee announced new restrictions under the state’s Safe Start plan Thursday that affect restaurants, bars, gyms, weddings and funerals, movie theaters and other services.

He also announced an extension of the statewide eviction moratorium, and said he expects to further extend the pause on counties advancing phases under the Safe Start plan.

Also Thursday, Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced an expansion of the statewide mask mandate to include common spaces beyond those in public.

“At the moment, the only effective tool against this pandemic is to change some of our practices, and we need to do that,” Inslee said at a virtual press conference. “Unfortunately we know this, the rate of transmission has been increasing around the state. Our suppression of this virus is not at the level it needs to be to continue to allow us to continue to allow more activity.”

He said nearly 1,500 Washingtonians have died due to complications of COVID-19, more than 50,000 people in the state have tested positive for the disease, and more than 5,000 have been hospitalized.

“Fewer, shorter, and safer interactions are absolutely crucial in this fight,” he said.

If going out is necessary, he said it’s important to keep it quick, at a social distance, and use face coverings.

The changes to the Safe Start plan that affect businesses take effect July 30. Those that affect weddings and funerals take effect Aug. 6.

Indoor service at bars will be closed, he said. Taverns, breweries, wineries and distilleries are defined as bars, even if they serve food.

Restaurants will not be able to serve alcohol after 10 p.m. and indoor dining will be restricted to members of the same household. To dine with someone outside your household, you’ll need to sit outside. Game areas of restaurants, such as pool tables, darts and video games, will be closed until Phase 4. The size of tables in Phase 3 will be limited to five people and the occupancy will be limited to 50 percent inside.

Ceremonies for weddings and funerals will be allowed, but receptions will be prohibited, the governor said. The maximum capacity for those indoor events will be 20 percent or 30 people, he said, whichever is smaller. That’s as long as social distancing of 6 feet can be maintained between members of different households.

Weddings and funerals scheduled to happen in the next two weeks will be allowed to go forward under the previous guidance, he said.

In Phase 2, five people are allowed at a time for indoor fitness services, not including staff. That counts for gyms, fitness studios, indoor pools, ice rinks, volleyball courts and tennis facilities. Those services are limited to private training or small group instruction. Fitness centers in Phase 3 counties will be limited to 25 percent occupancy, and group classes will be limited to 10 people, not including an instructor.

Entertainment and recreation facilities such as mini golf, bowling alleys and arcades are prohibited from opening until Phase 4, Inslee said. That applies to indoor facilities, he said. It doesn’t apply to outdoor batting cages, for example.

Indoor card rooms are prohibited from opening until Phase 4.

Movie theaters will be limited to 25 percent occupancy in Phase 3.

Live grad events canceled

The in-person graduation event the Peninsula School District had been planning at Roy Anderson Field on Saturday, July 25, has been canceled. The district said it is unable to move forward with this event because it is anticipated Pierce County will not be in Phase 4 of the state’s Start Safe plan by then. In lieu of the in-person event, prerecorded virtual graduation ceremonies for Gig Harbor High School and Peninsula High School will be presented at noon on the district web page, www.psd401.net

Gig Harbor distributes checks

The City of Gig Harbor is sending checks this week to 111 businesses who qualified for Small Business Stabilization Grants to help local businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19 statewide shutdowns.

A total of 130 businesses applied, and 111 businesses met the qualifications and were approved. Checks are being distributed this week, with the final total for each business set at $2,774.77.

The list of eligible businesses below met the following criteria: held a Gig Harbor business license prior to March 1, 2020; was a for-profit business physically located in the city of Gig Harbor; had ten or fewer full-time equivalent employees as of March 1, 2020; is not owned or partially owned by employees or public officials associated with the City of Gig Harbor; that suffered a financial loss due to the COVID-19 executive order or proclamation by Governor Jay Inslee.

The total fund was set at $308,0000, financed by a state-funneled grant from the CARES Act passed by Congress in April.

A random sampling of business receiving grants: Anytime Fitness Gig Harbor, Birdsnest Gallery and Framing, Clickery Photography, LLC, Dolly Mama Boutique, Finholm’s Grocery & Deli, Gig Harbor Eye Care, Java & Clay Cafe, Maritime Inn, No Dearth of Books, Occasions Coffee and Crepes, Pennywise Tax & Accounting, Shear Madness Salon, Tickled Pink and Yo! G’s Frozen Yogurt.

A complete list is available on the city website under Covid Alerts

This story was originally published July 19, 2020 at 12:51 PM.