COVID-19 rate slows down as ‘third wave’ tapers; Gig Harbor has 1,166, Key Peninsula 340
As the coronavirus infection rate continues to slow across Pierce County, confirmed COVID-19 cases in Gig Harbor reached 1,166 this week, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. The Key Peninsula had 340 cases.
Since the pandemic began in March, there have been 22 deaths in the Gig Harbor area and three on the Key Peninsula.
As of Tuesday, March 9, the total number of confirmed cases in Pierce County had reached 37,049 with 476 deaths. The trend is downward, with the 14-day case rate dropping from a high of 549 on Dec. 20 to 158 on March 9.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is listing a state prison and three Gig Harbor care facilities as “active outbreak facilities.” They are Tahoma Associates Gig Harbor Group Home, 6520 Soundview Dr., with 28 active cases in the last 30 days; The Lodge at Mallard’s Landing, 7083 Wagner Way NW., with 23 active cases; and Olympic Altzheimer’s Resident, 3025 14th Ave. NW, with 31 cases. The Washington Corrections Center for Women, 9601 Bujacich Rd., had 17 reported cases.
Neighborhood numbers
Here are neighborhood totals as of Tuesday, March 9. The numbers are cumulative since March, and include many persons who have since recovered.
▪ North Gig Harbor/Canterwood (census tract 072505) 251
▪ Wollochet (census tract 072408) 151
▪ Artondale (census tract 072406) 139
▪ Forest Beach-Kopachuck (census tract 072405) 94
▪ Sunrise Beach/Maplewood (census tract 072506) 72
▪ Fox Island (census tract 072410) 68
▪ Bayview (census tract 072409) 65
▪ Downtown (census tract 072507) 52
Key Peninsula
▪ Wauna/Purdy (census tract 072503) 102
▪ Vaughn area (census tract 072601) 100
▪ Mid-Peninsula (census tract 072602) 67
▪ Lakebay area, including McNeil and Anderson islands. (census tract 072603) 85
(Census tract numbers do not add up to the area total of active cases because some patients are presumed recovered.)
School numbers
As of Tuesday, March 9, The Peninsula School District has reported a cumulative total of 40 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the schools, 35 of them originating outside the school system. The district’s “COVID-19 Dashboard” lists the following case totals:
▪ Educational Service Center: 8
▪ Peninsula High School: 6
▪ Goodman Middle School: 4
▪ Gig Harbor High School: 4
▪ Voyager and Artondale Elementary Schools: 3 each
▪ Purdy, Pioneer and Evergreen elementary schools: 2 each
▪ Key Peninsula, Kopachuck and Harbor Ridge middle schools: 1 each
▪ Harbor Heights and Vaughn elementary schools: 1 each
Forty-five individuals were in quarantine after having been in close contact with infected persons, 44 of them at Gig Harbor High School and one at Harbor Ridge Middle School. Due to privacy regulations, the district was unable to say whether they were staff or students.
The Covid Dashboard is online at .psd401.net/schoolreopening/covid-19-dashboard
Find a current list of locations where you can access vaccine at www.tpchd.org/vaxtothefuture.
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 5:30 AM.