Coronavirus updates: Pierce County metrics need to hold or improve to maintain Phase 2
The Washington state Department of Health reported 1,624 new cases of COVID-19 and 28 deaths on Thursday.
Pierce County reported 170 cases Thursday and four new deaths. Pierce County has a total of 408 deaths likely caused by COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 317,878 cases and 4,416 deaths. Those numbers are up from 316,254 cases and 4,388 deaths Wednesday. The case total includes 15,096 cases listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.
Washington’s population is estimated at about 7.6 million, according to U.S. Census figures from July 2019.
Pierce County metrics need to hold or improve to maintain Phase 2; vaccine clinics ramping up
Pierce County seems to be dancing on the head of a pin to stay in Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
On Wednesday, officials from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department gave an update on how the county is doing in terms of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery metrics.
“Currently, we’re kind of not meeting one. We’re kind of close to not meeting on three of the others. We’re in that kind of gray area,” said Nigel Turner, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department director of communicable disease, at the regular Board of Health meeting.
“Moving forward, we have to maintain this level, at least three ... of the four to maintain in Phase 2,” he added.
Large gatherings that provoke community spread, officials noted, could easily throw the county back to Phase 1.
So no Super Bowl parties, for example, officials pleaded with the public this week.
The Roadmap to Recovery program, introduced in early January by Gov. Jay Inslee to replace the previous Safe Start phases, bundles counties together by region, where collectively they are measured under the metrics for reopening. Pierce County is measured along with King and Snohomish counties in the Puget Sound region.
Pierce County and its region moved to Phase 2 on Feb. 1. The next update from the state comes Feb. 12.
To stay in Phase 2 a region must meet at least three out of four metrics:
▪ Two-week decreasing or flat trend of active cases.
▪ Two-week decreasing or flat trend of new cases.
▪ ICU occupancy of less than 90 percent.
▪ COVID test positivity rate of less than 10 percent.
Turner told the Board of Health there remained “very high levels of disease in our community, although we have seen in the last few weeks, declining numbers after a peak in mid-January.”
“Pierce County’s been meeting three of four of the measures in the single region that we share with Snohomish and King counties,” he told board members Wednesday.
The overall trend in new cases over 14 days continues to be an issue for Pierce, which saw a 4 percent increase during the last reporting period.
“That’s one area that we haven’t been meeting, according to the definitions,” Turner said.
After spikes in mid-December and mid-January, Turner said, “Currently, we anticipate that cases will drop.”
He added, “Percent of positivity is currently at 9 (percent), just below 10,” he said. “Looking into the future, the percent of positivity is very hard to predict, because a lot of time we’re getting the data for the negative tests later on. So our anticipated numbers could actually be lower than what they are now. So that might be something that goes back up over 10, it might stay at 9, but it’ll be close for a while.
“In terms of hospitalizations, the admission rate continues to decline. That’s good news. And likewise, overall for the region, the percentage ICU capacity remains below 90 percent. So I think those two are fairly solid for the time being.”
The challenge before the county, he noted, is that Phase 2 in the Roadmap to Recovery plan allows for larger gatherings.
“Previously, indoor social gatherings weren’t permitted, outdoor gatherings have increased in number from 10 to 15. A big change is indoor dining is now permitted up to 25 percent capacity,” Turner said. “And other changes include the fitness and trainings have gone from very small groups to again 25 percent capacity. And then outdoor entertainment groups of 15 with a maximum of 200.”
WA state health officials want you to cancel Super Bowl parties as a COVID-19 precaution
The word from Washington state health officials: No Super Bowl parties this weekend, please.
On Thursday, officials from the state Department of Health noted the strain of staying ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic spread in terms of both vaccine distribution and keeping caseloads down statewide.
“We’ve given over 66 percent of the vaccine doses delivered to our state, now in the arms of Washingtonians, and that percentage continues to rise,” said Dr. Umair Shah, the state’s Secretary of Health, at Thursday’s briefing.
He noted, “Providers in our state have given over 773,000 doses total. And we are now averaging almost 28,000 vaccine doses given each day. And that’s more than three times our daily average at the start of 2021.”
Getting to Gov. Jay Inslee’s goal of 45,000 vaccines daily is still a tall order, but Inslee said Thursday the state now has the capacity to do so. The state is now receiving 100,000 to 116,000 doses a week.
Providers administering vaccine must use at least 95 percent of their allocations within a week.
Michele Roberts, who’s leading COVID-19 vaccine planning and distribution at the state Department of Health, said on Thursday, “This week, we had to reduce orders for 39 providers because they still had more than 5 percent of vaccine leftover from the previous week.”
Washington has passed 300,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 4,400 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
“As we get further past the holidays, we’re seeing some progress in the right direction,” Shah said.
“However, we have to remember we are far from out of the woods. COVID-19 activity is still high in our state. We’ve now confirmed, unfortunately, several cases of the variants that spread more easily and quickly in our state. And it should give all of us pause.”
Pierce County announced the detection of the U.K. variant in one case on Jan. 24.
“I know we’re tired of this virus, but again, it’s not tired of us,” Shah said Thursday.
So, no Super Bowl potlucks.
“You can link in your typical game day buddies by video or text chat,” suggested Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for COVID-19 response for the state Department of Health.
If people do gather, “please think about gathering outside as opposed to inside, wear masks and always maintain six feet of distance,” she said. “If you do end up indoors, keep your windows and doors open for good ventilation. Keep your gathering small and spread it out.”
Craig Sailor and Debbie Cockrell contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Coronavirus updates: Pierce County metrics need to hold or improve to maintain Phase 2."
