Coronavirus Cases In 10 WA Nursing Homes; 2 More Deaths Tuesday

SEATTLE, WA — Public health officials say 74 additional patients have tested positive for the new coronavirus in King County since Monday, and two more deaths have been linked to the illness.

Accounting for the latest update, at least 190 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in King County alone, and 22 people have died. At least 267 illnesses have been confirmed statewide.

Related: 267 Coronavirus Cases In Washington, Inslee Says Many More Likely

The most recent deaths include a woman in her 80s, a resident of the Issaquah Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, who died on March 8 at Swedish Issaquah. A man in his 80s, a resident at Ida Culver House, died on March 9 at UW Medical Center.

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According to Seattle and King County Public Health, residents or employees at 10 King County long-term care facilities have now tested positive for the virus:

• Life Care Center of Kirkland
• Issaquah Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Emerald Heights
• Aegis Living at Marymoor
• Redmond Care & Rehabilitation Center
• Ida Culver House Ravenna
• Boulevard Park Place Active Retirement Community
• Madison House Independent & Assisted Living Community
• The Gardens at Juanita Bay
• Columbia Lutheran Home

In a statement on their website, the Issaquah Nursing and Rehabiliation Center confirmed a resident with COVID-19 died over the weekend. The senior facility said five residents and two staff members with confirmed infections were in quarantine and test results were pending for two other staff members.

At least 19 of the 22 deaths linked to the virus in Washington have been among residents at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, widely regarded as the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus in Washington. During a press briefing Tuesday, a spokesman for the senior home said 31 patients had tested positive for the illness and about a dozen tested negative and were moved to a separate wing.

Public health said its staff would work with each facility to "optimize care for residents and prevent further transmission of the virus."

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During a Tuesday press conference, Gov. Jay Inslee and other state leaders gathered to outline additional steps that are being taken to protect those living in senior care facilities and help people who are kept from working as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

New rules for visiting nursing homes and assisted care facilities:

• Visitors must be adults and the visit must take place in the resident’s room. This does not apply to end-of-life situations.
• All visitors must follow COVID-19 screening and follow reasonable precautionary measures. Precautionary measures include, but are not limited to, wearing personal protective equipment, social distancing, or visiting in designated locations.
• All visitors must sign into a visitor’s log. Owners and operators must retain that log for 30 days.
• Employees or volunteers must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms at the start of each shift.
• People who live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities and who test positive for COVID-19 must be isolated away from other people.
• Owners, operators, staff and volunteers are prohibited from disclosing protected and confidential health information, except as otherwise provided by law or with the resident’s consent.

In addition to the new protections in place for senior facilities, the governor announced several measures to support workers and businesses affected by quarantines or illnesses, including some emergency rules to make state unemployment benefits more flexible:

• Workers will be able to receive unemployment benefits and employers will get relief of benefit charges if an employer needs to curtail or shut down operations temporarily because a worker becomes sick and other workers need to be isolated or quarantined as a result of COVID-19.
• A worker that follows guidance issued by a medical or public health official to isolate or quarantine themselves as a result of exposure to COVID-19 and is not receiving paid sick leave from their employer, may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
• If a worker falls seriously ill and is forced to quit, they may qualify for Paid Family Medical Leave while ill under the existing program. Once recovered and available for work, they may apply for unemployment benefits.
• It removes the full-time requirement and expands standby ability to part time/less than full-time workers who are isolated.

People at high risk for complications from COVID-19 are:

• People older than 60
• People with chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes
• People with weakened immune systems
• Pregnant people

The Washington Department of Health has published these fact-sheets to help residents decide what steps to take:

• What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19
• What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with confirmed COVID-19
• What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and have not been around anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19

Who should get tested?

From Seattle and King County Public Health: "Not everybody who feels ill needs to be tested, particularly if you have mild illness. Healthcare providers determine who should be tested, based on specific symptoms. While testing is becoming more available, there are still limitations in the ability to quickly collect and process tests."