Pierce County Coronavirus: 1,712 Cases, 62 Deaths

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Health officials in Pierce County reported 26 new cases of the coronavirus and 2 new deaths due to the virus Monday. The new numbers bring the total to 1,712 cases county wide and 62 total deaths since the outbreak began.

The two latest victims were both women from Tacoma in their 90s. Both also reportedly had underlying health conditions which complicated treatment.

Statewide Washington saw 14 new deaths and 231 new confirmed cases of the virus. 234,986 people across Washington have now been tested for the coronavirus, meaning just around 7 percent of tests come back positive.

Across Washington, 321 patients have been hospitalized with COVID-19, 94 of which are in the ICU for extreme cases.

Three more counties cleared to enter Phase 2 of reopening plan

Wahkiakum, Skamania and Stevens counties have been approved to enter Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee's Safe Start plan. Already the state has entered Phase 1, which allowed the reopening of certain non-essential business like construction, dog walking, and car washes, but certain counties are being allowed to enter the second stage early.

To qualify for the expedited reopening, the counties needed to have a population below 75,000, and no new coronavirus cases for at least the last three weeks. Columbia, Garfield, Lincoln, Ferry and Pend Oreille met that requirement on Friday, May 8 and now Wahkiakum, Skamania and Stevens join them. Kittitas county has also applied to enter Phase 2 early, but its application is still being reviewed.

In Phase 2, restaurants and bars are allowed to reopen as long as they stay under 50 percent full capacity and only seat tables of five or fewer. Retailers, business offices, hair and nail salons, pet groomers, nannies and housecleaning services will also be allowed to return to work.

The remainder of the state is expected to enter the second phase around June 1.

Read more: 3 More Counties To Enter Phase 2 Of Washington's Reopening Plan

---

Don't miss the latest coronavirus updates from health and government officials in Washington. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily.

---

Firefighters to public: don't microwave your masks

Firefighters with Central Pierce Fire & Rescue are warning everyone not to microwave their face coverings, unless they want to risk a fire.

They took to twitter Monday with a warning and photos of some of the worst case scenarios.

DO NOT DISINFECT FACE MASKS IN THE MICROWAVE! Cloth masks can overheat quickly and catch fire. Disposable masks often have a metal nose wire and can cause sparks, a fire, and/or break your microwave. The CDC recommends sterilizing masks with detergent in the washing machine. pic.twitter.com/PQm128SVlp
— Central Pierce Fire & Rescue (@CentralPierce) May 11, 2020

Concerns about the lasting impact on transit

Transit agencies across the Puget Sound are reportedly planning for a crisis: reduced ridership during the outbreak already stalled ridership, now there are concerns that many riders wont return at all when the pandemic is passed.

Tech giants like Amazon have opened up to working from home, now some fear that there will be drastically less commuters over the coming weeks and months, which in turn means less tickets sold and less money raised to keep public transit running. Also looming are fears of a recession which could lead to less jobs, and again less commuters.

Federal aid is coming: Sound Transit is set to receive $166 million in federal funds, but they say that could amount to less than 2 percent of the money they will lose if the upcoming downturn is as bad as 2008;s recession. Similarly King County Metro will receive around $244 million.

Pierce County is already preparing for cutbacks. Pierce Transit has expanded their services almost 20 percent over the past five years, but expect to lose about 12 percent of their routes and services by this fall.

Read more: Coronavirus Could Leave Lasting Setbacks for Local Transit

Coronavirus cases by city

Location	Confirmed Cases	Deaths
Bonney Lake	40	2
Central Pierce County	127	5
East Pierce County	48	2
Edgewood/Fife/Milton	83	9
Frederickson	58	1
Gig Harbor	51	1
Graham	52	0
Key Peninsula	7	1
Lake Tapps/Sumner	41	0
Lakewood	179	5
Parkland	91	1
Puyallup	120	5
South Hill	91	0
South Pierce County	37	0
Southwest Pierce County	21	2
Spanaway	56	4
Tacoma	553	23
University Place	50	1
Unknown	7	0
Total	1,712	62