Coronavirus testing ramps up. Tri-City seniors urged to be cautious. And more cancellations

The death toll from coronavirus in Washington state increased to 24 on Tuesday afternoon, with 267 positive cases.

Much of the increase came from a report from King County of 74 more cases in the Seattle area. There are now cases in eight counties, including Grant and Kittitias.

Benton and Franklin counties continued on Tuesday to have no reports of residents testing positive for the novel coronavirus.

But more residents are being tested as LabCorp and the University of Washington Clinical Lab began running tests, increasing chances that a case will be identified in the Tri-Cities area. Earlier, only government labs were doing testing

Despite the increase in capacity for testing, it “is not infinite” and tests should be prioritized for those who are severely ill or part of a public health investigation, the Benton Franklin Health District said in information posted on its website.

“It is important that people who are not ill do not go to a clinic or hospital seeking coronavirus testing,” the health district said.

Tri-Cities nursing homes and assisted living homes have already been taking precautions to protect their residents, with advice from the local health district.

But some may have to tighten their restrictions after Gov. Jay Inslee issued an order Tuesday that adult care homes limit visitors to one a day for each resident.

Nursing home visitors

Visitors must be adults and the visit must take place in the resident’s room, although the restriction is lifted for end-of-life visitors.

The majority of people in the state who have died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have been residents of a nursing home in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle.

Several Tri-City care centers have closed their doors to visitors, except visitors providing medical care.

Others, like Life Care Center of Richland and Tranquility Haven in Kennewick, have continued to allow visitors after making sure they are healthy and have clean hands.

Some have posted notices from the Washington state Department of Health saying visitors must not have traveled to areas of the world with the worst coronavirus outbreaks and must not have been in close contact with anyone who has respiratory symptoms for two weeks.

Retirement homes, where older adults live independently in apartments, also are exercising caution.

Brookdale Canyon Lakes Senior Living in Kennewick has canceled Brookdale-sponsored group outings for residents and suspended visits by groups performing for residents.

Tips for seniors

Seniors, people with underlying health conditions and pregnant women are most likely to have serious illnesses if exposed to the novel coronavirus and should be taking precautions to avoid exposure, says the Benton Franklin Health District

“Now is the time to take seriously whether you need to go to that large gathering,” said Heather Hill, communicable disease program supervisor for the local health district.

It is only a matter of time before the first case of COVID-19 is found in the Tri-Cities, she said.

People most vulnerable to the virus also should stay out of crowded stores, she said.

Friends or family members already headed to stores likely would be willing to pick up a few items. Or people can go online to place an order at many stores and then drive up to have it delivered to the car.

If seniors and others at high risk must go to the store, pick a time when the store is mostly empty and make sure to keep six feet away from other people, Hill said.

Then the greatest risk is to touching surfaces where someone might have coughed or sneezed, she said. She recommends using the hand wipes in the entrance of most grocery stores.

Because the novel coronavirus is believed to be spread through droplets from sneezing, coughing or when people talk or sing, the droplets quickly fall to the ground or other surfaces where they can still infect people.

Special Olympics Washington cancels training, events

The Special Olympics in Washington state has suspended all activities until March 31 to protect its athletes and to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The organization has stopped all training and practices, competition, league play and district events, as well as any other events that involve its athletes.

“No one who lives in a county where there are known cases should travel to another county or hold any Special Olympics activities,” the organization stated.

“No one who lives in a county with no known cases should travel to an affected county,” Special Olympics Washington added.

The suspension of activities will be re-evaluated at the end of the month.

Central Washington University

Central Washington University in Ellensburg will administer all winter quarter finals via email or other methods that prevent in-person contact, the university announced Tuesday.

“While we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the CWU residential campus or at any of our centers and sites, we are making this decision as a precautionary move,” said Lynn Franken, CWU interim president.

Classes now offered in person will continue to be taught that way through the last week of winter quarter, March 9-13, included at outlying sites such as Moses Lake and Yakima. Finals week start March 17.

As the status of COVID-19 in central Washington becomes more clear, the university may adjust its procedures for teaching and learning for the spring quarter, which starts March 31.

Help by donating blood

The American Red Cross is concerned about maintaining blood supplies as the novel coronavirus spreads.

“As fears of coronavirus rise, low donor participation could harm blood availability at hospitals, and the last thing a patient should worry about is whether lifesaving blood will be on the shelf when they need it most,” said Chris Hrouda, president of Red Cross Blood Services.

There is no data or evidence that this coronavirus can be transmissable by blood transfusion, and there have been no reported cases worldwide of transmission for any respiratory virus from a transfusion, the Red Cross says.

However, as a precaution the Red Cross will not accept blood donations for people who has traveled to certain countries in the last 28 days. They include Iran, Italy, South Korea and China, plus its special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau.

It also will not accept blood from anyone in contact with a person who has COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or contact with someone suspected to have the virus.

Donors are screened to make sure they are healthy and feeling well before they donate blood.

Red Cross employees routinely follow the good hygiene practices now recommended to stop the spread of coronavirus. They wear gloves, routinely wipe down area donors touch, use sterile collection sets for every donation and prepare the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub.

To make an appointment to donate blood, call 800-733-2767 or go to RedCrossBlood.org.

Upcoming blood drives include:

▪ Richland — Columbia Community Church , 150 Gage Blvd., has a drive noon to 5 p.m. March 16. The Richland Blood Donation Center at 447 Wellsian Way is open for donations several days a week.

▪ Kennewick — The First Prebyterian Church, 2001 W. Kennewick Ave., plans a drive 1 to 6 p.m. March 12. Breshears Photography, 7201 W. Clearwater Ave., Unit 105B, has a drive 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 13.

▪ Burbank — Columbia High School, 787 Maple St., has a drive 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 12.

Prosser programs canceled

The city of Prosser has suspended its programs at its Community Center, which also serves as the senior center, likely until next week, it announced Tuesday.

A person who visited the center at 1231 Dudley Ave. may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus outside of Benton County, the city said. The person has no symptoms at this time.

The city decided after consulting with the Benton Franklin Health District to suspend its programs as a precaution while the facility is sanitized.

Other organizations that use the facility will make their own determinations on whether to cancel or continue their programs.

Meals on Wheels continues to deliver meals in Prosser. But diners who usually eat food at the Meals on Wheels dining site at the Community Center must temporarily pick up their meals from the back door of the kitchen.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 2:37 PM.