PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce County reported 214 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday and two additional deaths.
The latest deaths involved a Puyallup woman in her 70s and a Key Peninsula man in his 100s, both with underlying health conditions.
County totals are now 10,724 confirmed cases and 197 deaths since the first case in the coronavirus pandemic was recorded March 6.
Wednesday’s single-day case total was by far the highest ever since the start of the pandemic. The previous single-day total was 138 cases on Oct. 22.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 1,408 cases in the past 14 days. The 14-day case rate per 100,000 people is 156.1. Average cases per day over the past 14 days are 100.6.
With a six-day data lag required in the state’s Safe Start measurements, the county’s case rate per 100,000 is 136.9.
There are an estimated 2,440 still-active cases in the county, with 41 percent of cases with no link to other cases, down from 60 percent last week. The lower the percentage, the less community spread.
“Today’s record highs in new cases and the 14-day case rate show a continued increase in community transmission and a high number of household transmissions. We’re still seeing more cases in households with a large number of contacts,” the health department noted in its Wednesday news release.
“Also, two labs reported batches of positive tests among Pierce County residents from testing sites throughout Pierce County and south King County.”
Those under 20 make up 11.8 percent of the total number of cases and 15.1 percent of cases in the past two weeks, according to the health department.
“The 20-39 age group comprises the highest number of COVID-19 cases at 39.1 percent of total cases in the past two weeks,” the department reported.
The health department on Wednesday listed 11 new outbreaks in the county for last week, up from 10 the previous week. The county lists a positivity test rate of 5.2 percent, up from 4.4 percent the previous week, with the rate of average daily tests slightly down from the previous week.
Testing is available at various sites in the county. For more information on testing sites, go to www.tpchd.org/covidtest.
GEOGRAPHIC TOTALS
Wednesday’s geographic case totals for Pierce County are listed below with previous day’s total in parentheses:
▪ Bonney Lake: 270 (261)
▪ Central Pierce County: 611 (600)
▪ East Pierce County: 404 (397)
▪ Edgewood/Fife/Milton: 489 (478)
▪ Frederickson: 443 (439)
▪ Gig Harbor area: 292 (286)
▪ Graham: 352 (346)
▪ JBLM: No longer reported
▪ Key Peninsula: 86 (85)
▪ Lake Tapps/Sumner area: 398 (391)
▪ Lakewood: 942 (929)
▪ Parkland: 519 (516)
▪ Puyallup: 716 (684)
▪ South Hill: 609 (597)
▪ South Pierce County: 294 (290)
▪ Southwest Pierce County: 126 (122)
▪ Spanaway: 477 (466)
▪ Tacoma: 3,218 (3,154)
▪ University Place: 391 (383)
▪ Unknown: 87 (86)
Cox Media Group
