Pierce County Coronavirus: 16 New Cases, 1 More Death

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Pierce County health officials reported a single new death due to the coronavirus Thursday. The health department has identified the death as a Tacoma man in his 70s. He reportedly had underlying health conditions, complicating treatment.

The health department also reported 16 new confirmed cases of the virus, a slight bounce-back in new cases after seeing a record-low three cases just two days prior. The number of cases per day is becoming an increasingly important topic for health care leaders as the county eyes the possibility of entering Phase 2 of Gov. Inslee's Safe Start plan. The second phase allows a number of industries like manufactures, retailers, restaurants, bars, hair salons, gyms and more to reopen.

Current guidance from the state says that, to enter Phase 2, a county must have fewer than 10 cases per every 100,000 residents over a two-week period. In Pierce County, that means an average of 6 cases per day for a total of 84 cases over 14 days. Right now the county is about double that, with an average of 12 new cases per day, and 167 cases in the past two weeks.

Still, county leaders are looking forward and hoping that the governor may release updated guidance that would allow Pierce County to enter Phase 2 alongside King and Snohomish counties, as he hinted he would earlier this week. To prepare, Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier and two council chairs have called for an emergency meeting to prepare an application to enter Phase 2.

While we are preparing to be ready, we don’t meet Gov. Inslee's current requirements. We’re hopeful the governor will announce a change tomorrow, and if we meet any updated criteria, we will recommend that the county apply.
— Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (@TPCHD) May 28, 2020

Pierce County has now seen a total of 1,907 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and 73 total deaths. 24,558 Pierce residents have been tested for the virus, meaning 7.6 percent of tests come back positive. Health officials estimate around 1,400 of Pierce County's coronavirus patients have fully recovered.

Statewide, Washington reported 11 new deaths and 358 new cases of the virus Thursday. Of those, 128 were in Yakima County, which has been one of the hardest hit regions in the west coast per capita. The new numbers bring the total death toll to 1,106, and 20,764 patients infected with the virus. On average, 5.3 percent of people who are confirmed to have the virus are killed.

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Catch up on the latest developments:

Snohomish County applies to enter Phase 2

Snohomish, King and Pierce counties are three of Washington's most populated, and among the hardest hit by the virus. All three are also fairly far from meeting the state's current requirement to move into Phase 2 of the reopening plan: fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period.

Despite remaining above that threshold, Snohomish County is asking the state to give the county the go-ahead to enter Phase 2 early. Thursday, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, County Council Chair Nate Nehring and Board of Health Chair Stephanie Wright came together to argue that the county's new coronavirus response plan is comprehensive enough to protect against any future outbreaks or surges.

The county's application still needs support from the county council and the board of health before it can be sent to the state for approval.

Read more: Snohomish County Leaders Push For Phase 2 Reopening

More counties approved to enter Phase 2

As Snohomish County moves to create an application for Phase 2, two other counties saw their applications approved. Thursday the state announced that Clallam and Kitsap counties are the latest of now 26 counties approved to enter Phase 2 of the reopening plan.

At this point, Klickitat County is the only remaining county that meets the requirements to apply for a "variance" to move forward into Phase 2 early, but it has not yet done so. Clark County was eligible until recently, when a new coronavirus outbreak put their application on hold.

Variance applications require that a county's hospitals, health officers, board of health and county commission or council unanimously support the move into Phase 2. The county must also demonstrate that it can provide adequate testing and quickly respond to new outbreaks as they arise.

Read more: Two More Washington Counties Move To Phase 2

State reclaims $300 million from unemployment scammers, new unemployment claims down

State officials say they've reclaimed $300 million scammed from the Employment Security Department using stolen identities.

On May 21, state officials confirmed that an international fraud ring had stolen upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars from the unemployment system by filing claims using stolen identities. To root out the fraudsters, the department halted all payments for several days to re-evaluate all claims and install new safeguards.

How the money was reclaimed and how much money remains missing remains unknown. At a press conference Thursday Gov. Inslee said the state would not yet reveal how they were reclaiming the lost funds, as they did not want scammers to catch wind of their methods.

The ESD reports new unemployment claims were down more than 65 percent last week, which they say is at least in part due to their recent efforts to root fraudsters out of Washington's unemployment system.

Washington also saw a dip in overall unemployment claims, a glimmer of hope even as unemployment skyrockets nationwide. An estimated 2.1 million more Americans applied for unemployment last week, bringing the total to around 41 million people across the country seeking unemployment benefits. At this rate, economists estimate the US unemployment rate will be nearly 20 percent for May, and that unemployment could stay in the double digits through 2021.

Read more: New Unemployment Claims Drop As Washington Roots Out Fraudsters

Study finds new coronavirus patients trending younger

A new analysis lead by a Seattle epidemiologist has found that Washington is seeing a sharp rise in coronavirus cases for patients under 40, and a decline in patients 60 or older.

The study found that cases with patients 39 or younger have grown 20 percent, while cases in older adults have dropped by around 10 percent. Now, half of the state's new infections are in younger patients.

While the coronavirus is at its most deadly in elderly patients, rising infection rates in younger patients bring new problems: including that younger patients are more likely to move around while contagious, potentially infecting high-risk individuals.

As the Seattle Times reports, the state health officer credits the swing to social and physical distancing policies in long term care facilities, which have effectively slowed outbreaks in the elderly population.

Read more: New Coronavirus Cases Trend Younger In Washington, Study Finds

New protections for agriculture workers, testing in care facilities

At a conference Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a pair of new plans to protect agriculture workers and long term care facilities from the coronavirus.

For farmworkers, Inslee has issued a new proclamation expanding and revising the guidelines in place to protect farmworkers in fields, packing houses and on company-owned workplace transportation. Inslee says the new rules make it clearer that employers are required to deliver all necessary personal protective equipment and provide better education for farmworkers on their rights and the protections their employers must provide.

"These rules go a long ways in addressing the issues that farmworkers have consistently raised with us," said Erik Nicholson with United Farm Workers at a teleconference announcing the changes.

Meanwhile, long term care facilities received a new order from the governor. Washington nursing homes now have two weeks to test all their staff and patients for the coronavirus. Everyone at assisted living facilities with a memory care unit will also need to be tested by June 26, a little under a month from the proclamation.

Read more: Inslee Expands Farmworker Protections, Care Facility Testing

Apartments pay $345,000 for eviction ban violations

The managers of a Tacoma apartment complex have agreed to pay nearly $345,000 to settle the state's first-ever lawsuit over Gov. Inslee's eviction moratorium.

On April 20, Ferguson's office filed a suit against the Nevada-based JRK Residential Group, after they allegedly tried to evict 14 residents at The Boulders at Puget Sound apartment complex in Tacoma, despite Inslee's moratorium banning evictions during the pandemic.

To settle the case, JRK agreed to pay $345,000, of which nearly $300,000 will go back to tenants in the form of rent forgiveness and reimbursements.

The Attorney General's Office says that since they began investigating eviction moratorium violations on April 1, more than 1,800 Washingtonians have come forward to file complaints.

Read more: Tacoma Apartments To Pay $345,000 For Violating Eviction Ban

4th child diagnosed with coronavirus-linked syndrome

The Benton-Franklin Health District is reporting a new case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, a recently-discovered disorder that appears in children who have been infected with or exposed to the coronavirus.

The latest case is in a Franklin County child who is under 10 years old. Earlier this month, health officials confirmed cases in Snohomish and King counties.

MIS-C was first identified by health care workers in the UK back in late April. The disorder is an inflammatory disorder similar to Kawasaki's disease, appearing only in children and causing fevers, inflammation and severe illness.

Leaders with the Benton-Franklin Health District says that any parent who is concerned their child may have MIS-C or the coronavirus should seek treatment immediately.

Read more: 4th Washington Child Diagnosed With Syndrome Linked To COVID-19

Coronavirus cases by city:

Location	Confirmed Cases	Deaths
Bonney Lake	47	3
Central Pierce County	140	6
East Pierce County	53	3
Edgewood/Fife/Milton	88	9
Frederickson	65	2
Gig Harbor	53	1
Graham	55	0
Key Peninsula	7	1
Lake Tapps/Sumner	48	0
Lakewood	197	5
Parkland	107	2
Puyallup	138	8
South Hill	103	1
South Pierce County	37	0
Southwest Pierce County	21	2
Spanaway	65	4
Tacoma	613	28
University Place	62	2
Unknown	8	0
Total	1,907	73