Coronavirus updates: ‘No evidence’ to suggest recovered patients are immune; state passes 13K cases
This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Saturday, April 25.
PIERCE COUNTY ENHANCES CASE REPORTING MAP
Updated 5:30 p.m.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has enhanced the map on its website to now show positive COVID-19 cases not only by city and larger areas, but by neighborhood.
“We improved the map on our COVID-19 cases page,” the health department tweeted. “Now, you can see cases in your neighborhood (by census tract). You can still see cases and deaths by geographic are on the page, too.”
Each census tract is shown in purple, with deeper shades indicating more positive cases in the area. For example, census tract 071602 near Parkland is currently displaying 20 or more cases, while census tract 072305 in University Place is displaying 0-4 cases.
The map can be viewed on the health department’s website.
WASHINGTON PASSES 13,000 COVID-19 CASES
Updated 5 p.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 342 new COVID-19 cases and 15 additional deaths Saturday.
Statewide case totals have reached 13,319, while the state’s death toll is now at 738, up from 12,977 cases and 723 deaths Friday.
King County continues to be the hardest hit, reporting 5,739 cases. The county is the first in the state to report 400 deaths. Snohomish County has reached 2,297 cases and 102 deaths, and Pierce County is reporting 1,307 cases and 47 deaths.
Of the state’s 39 counties, all but Garfield County have reported cases, with Benton (399), Clark (296), Franklin (250), Grant (150), Island (161), King (5,739), Kitsap (144), Pierce (1,307), Skagit (287), Snohomish (2,297), Spokane (345), Thurston (101), Whatcom (284) and Yakima (976) all reporting more than 100 cases.
Thurston County became the 14th county in the state to report at least 100 cases Saturday.
Twenty-one counties have reported at least one virus-related death. All but five of those counties have reported multiple deaths, with Benton (37), Clark (18), King (400), Pierce (47), Skagit (10), Snohomish (102), Spokane (19), Whatcom (27) and Yakima (44) all reporting at least 10.
There are 137 cases and one death that have not been assigned to a county.
There have been 170,594 people tested in Washington, with positive cases at 7.8%.
‘NO EVIDENCE’ RECOVERED PATIENTS SAFE FROM GETTING VIRUS AGAIN
Updated 5 p.m.
The World Health Organization said in a statement Friday it is possible for those who have recovered from COVID-19 to contract the virus again.
“There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection,” the statement says.
There have been reports of recovered patients in China, Korea and Japan who were diagnosed with the virus a second time.
“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told Bloomberg. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.”
Health officials in the U.S. have emphasized the importance of blood testing for antibodies, but those tests could become irrelevant if studies show those antibodies don’t give patients immunity to the virus.
The U.S., the U.K., Germany and Italy have all considered similar measures relating to identifying recovered patients with immunity certificates, but WHO has cautioned against this.
“At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate,’ ” WHO said.
PIERCE COUNTY REPORTS MORE THAN 1,300 POSITIVE CASES
Updated 2 p.m.
Pierce County reported 23 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths Saturday.
County totals are now at 1,307 cases and 47 deaths, up from 1,287 cases Friday. The county also reported 47 deaths Friday, but has reassigned them to another county.
The two additional deaths reported Saturday include a University Place man in his 50s and a Tacoma man in his 60s. Both had underlying health conditions.
The county did not alter its totals by geographical area within the county, instead reporting 23 additional cases to the unknown category which is now at 30. Puyallup and Tacoma’s reported cases both slightly decreased from Friday’s reported totals.
Daily case totals can change as the county receives new information about cases, finds duplicate data or is assigned cases that were originally attributed to other counties. The health department has released a statement on delays in data posting.
Saturday’s geographical totals are listed below with Friday’s numbers in parenthesis:
▪ Bonney Lake: 33 (no change)
▪ Central Pierce County: 101 (no change)
▪ East Pierce County: 36 (no change)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 69 (no change)
▪ Frederickson: 44 (no change)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 50 (no change)
▪ Graham: 41 (no change)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 7 (no change)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 35 (no change)
▪ Lakewood: 117 (no change)
▪ Parkland: 59 (no change)
▪ Puyallup: 61 (62)
▪ South Hill: 70 (no change)
▪ South Pierce County: 25 (no change)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 17 (no change)
▪ Spanaway: 40 (no change)
▪ Tacoma: 428 (430)
▪ University Place: 44 (no change)
▪ Unknown: 30 (7)
Daily reports include cases received by 11:59 p.m. the previous day.
INMATE RELEASE EARLY FROM MONROE TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
Updated 10:30 a.m.
An inmate released early from the Monroe Correction Complex to free up space has tested positive for COVID-19.
The former inmate, now in Cowlitz County, told Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer he was showing symptoms before his release, and the state Department of Corrections was aware, but he was not tested then.
The DOC account differs. Officials said Friday the man was screened shortly before he was released, and was not tested because he denied having symptoms and did not have a fever.
The man was released last Sunday and tested positive the same day at a hospital in Cowlitz County. Before his release, he was housed in Monroe’s Minimum Security Unit, where 12 inmates and seven staffers have tested positive during the outbreak.
Meyer said the former inmate said he was exposed to others under quarantine “for hours” following the April 8 disturbance at the facility. He was quarantined for four or five days before his release, but Meyer said the man told him he had chills, a sore throat, respiratory problems and a headache, and alerted staff, but was not tested.
The former inmate told Meyer he was transported from the facility when he was released in a van to Seattle along with another inmate who then transferred to another vehicle bound for Wenatchee. Another inmate joined the van in Seattle and was transported to Clark County.
DOC spokesman Jeremy Barclay said the former inmate who tested positive was screened before he was transported.
“Screening includes both health questions about symptoms and a temperature check,” Barclay said. “During screening, he did not have a fever and denied having any symptoms. He therefore was not tested for COVID-19.”
“The Department of Corrections continues to conduct due diligence on protecting public health when releasing an individual or transferring an individual to the community, and hopes that those releasing from a facility also wish to protect their own health and those in their community by accurately reporting symptoms,” he added.
DOC instructs previously quarantined inmates to complete a 14-day quarantine at their residence, and they are provided with a protective mask.
The former inmate told Meyer he had a shared living arrangement in Cowlitz County, but was turned away when he insisted on being tested.
“The individual then walked to the local hospital and was tested,” Meyer said in a written statement released Thursday. “The results confirmed he was positive for COVID-19. The individual is isolated and the health agency of the county where he is located is aware of the positive test result.”
The former inmate is currently at a facility set up for those who can’t self-isolate safely, according to Kalama Police Chief Rafael “Ralph” Herrera.
ESD EXPECTING NEARLY 1 MILLION JOBLESS CLAIMS WEEKLY
Updated 9:30 a.m.
The state Employment Security Department says it is expecting nearly 1 million weekly unemployment claims beginning Sunday.
“We’ve increased our bandwith to get ready, but if everyone tries to file at once it will be a challenge,” ESD tweeted Saturday morning.
Claims are expected to jump this week following the expansion of the unemployment benefits program Sunday, which now includes self-employed workers, independent contractors and those who haven’t worked 680 hours in the previous year.
ESD offers the following tips for those filing claims following the expansion:
File a different day: For those who can afford to wait, filing after Monday will allow those who need the benefit most to file first.
File late at night, or early in the morning: Filing can be completed online 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Traffic is lowest from 11 p.m.-6 a.m. daily.
File over the phone during off-hours: Submit weekly claims through ESD’s automated phone system (800-318-6022) after 6 p.m.
FARMERS MARKETS OPENING, BUT IN LIMITED CAPACITY
Updated 8:30 a.m.
Farmers markets in the South Sound are planning to open in the next few weeks — but in a much more limited way than in the past.
The markets, in the same category as grocery stores under Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order, are considered essential businesses, but will limit vendors to promote social distancing, place gatekeepers at entrances and ask the public to shop efficiently and avoid groups.
“As opposed to having markets as lovely community gathering places, for now they’re a place to pick up your groceries and do so safely,” Tacoma Farmers Market executive director Anika Moran said.
To meet health and safety requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tacoma Farmers Market, which operates four markets in the city, will space vendor tents 10 feet apart. Masked and gloved vendors will have handwashing stations at their tents, are encourage to pre-bag as much as possible, build barriers and designate one person to handle product and another to handle payments. Market staff will sit behind a plexiglass barrier. Other changes could include a lane system to keep customers from zig-zagging.
Some usual vendors will also be excluded from the market. That was “the hardest part of all of this,” Moran said.
“We’ve had to exclude craft vendors and also stay true to the nature of the farmers market as an essential grocer,” she said.
The Broadway market downtown usually hosts 80 vendors, but has cut that number in half, and might have to cancel its annual August fundraiser.
Moran expects revenue — the markets usually produce more than $1.3 million — to drop this year.
The Proctor Farmers Market, which opens Saturday after a delayed start to the season, will space its 40 vendors 6 feet apart, and guests will be required to wear a mask to enter.
Scott Gruber, who owns Calendula Farms and is the board chair of the market, has purchased some masks from a local seamstress to help guests who forget or aren’t aware of the policy, but says they will only go so far.
Hot food vendors at the site must also serve their meals in closed containers, and customers must leave the site before eating.
“There are some people out there that don’t understand what the new protocols will be, and we are really trying to discourage the aspect of the market as a social event and encourage the aspect of the market as a resource — and the farmers who desperately need the help,” Gruber said.
The Puyallup Farmers Market, which was delayed due to spacing restrictions, has launched an online shopping portal while it looks for an alternate location.
Here are details on several markets in the South Sound planning to open this spring:
▪ 26th and Proctor; Saturdays, April to October starting April 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
▪ Customers must wear a mask to enter; lines possible due to social distancing measures
▪ Broadway/Downtown: Broadway Street between 9th and 11th; Thursdays, May to October starting May 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
▪ Point Ruston: 5005 Ruston Way; Thursday starting June 2, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
▪ Eastside: 3500 McKinley Ave.; Tuesday starting June 2, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
▪ Rose Garden: Tacoma General Hospital, 315 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; start date TBD, Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
▪ 2020 location TBD; once it starts, Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
▪ Shop their vendors online at puyallupfarmersmarketstore.com.
ASYMPTOMATIC RESIDENT AT ORTING VETERANS HOME TESTS POSITIVE
Updated 8 a.m.
The state Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday in a release that a resident of the Washington Soldiers Home in Orting has tested positive for COVID-19.
“The resident is asymptomatic and has been isolated in their room,” the release says. “Additional environmental cleaning is also taking place throughout the facility.”
In order to combat the spread of the virus, residents at all four of the state’s homes — there are also locations in Port Orchard, Spokane and Walla Walla — were tested. It was during that process the positive case was confirmed.
The Orting location is working with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and following guidance from health officials to take “every possible precaution,” the release says.
Enhanced surveillance and four-hour symptom and temperature checks will be conducted for every resident during the next 14 days.
Staff will wear appropriate equipment while giving care, and will also receive testing and continue to participate in daily screenings, which include questions about their health.
“The Veterans and Families we serve mean so much to us and news that this virus has entered our building is upsetting to all of us,” department director Lourdes E. “Alfie” Alvarado-Ramos said in the release.
“We are taking every possible precaution and will continue proactive measures to keep the virus from spreading in the Home. Our veterans and their family members are in extremely capable hands.”
Results are pending for the 90 remaining residents and will be shared on the state DVA website.
WASHINGTON NEARING 13,000 COVID-19 CASES
Updated 8 a.m.
The Washington State Department of Health reported 224 new COVID-19 cases and 12 additional deaths late Friday.
Statewide case totals have reached 12,977, while the state’s death toll is now at 723, up from 12,753 cases and 711 deaths Thursday.
King County continues to be the hardest hit, reporting 5,637 cases and 393 deaths, while Snohomish County has reached 2,243 cases and 102 deaths, and Pierce County is reporting 1,287 cases and 47 deaths.
Of the state’s 39 counties, all but Garfield County have reported cases, with Benton (383), Clark (293), Franklin (239), Grant (149), Island (160), King (5,637), Kitsap (143), Pierce (1,287), Skagit (283), Snohomish (2,243), Spokane (330), Whatcom (282) and Yakima (923) all reporting more than 100 cases.
Twenty counties have reported at least one virus-related death. All but four of those counties have reported multiple deaths, with Benton (36), Clark (16), King (393), Pierce (47), Skagit (10), Snohomish (102), Spokane (19), Whatcom (27) and Yakima (43) all reporting at least 10.
There are 100 cases and one death that have not been assigned to a county.
There have been 160,324 people tested in Washington, with positive cases at 8.1%.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: ‘No evidence’ to suggest recovered patients are immune; state passes 13K cases."
