Pierce County reports highest COVID-19 cases amid pandemic
TACOMA, Wash. - The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported its highest number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. Officials announced 89 new cases, Thursday, bringing the total to 3,485.
Kim Steele-Peter is the department's public health branch director. She said once the economy and recreation started to open up under the Safe Start Washington plan, people wasted no time getting out of quarantine.
"Some people have kind of reached their limit," she said. "People are getting together with friends and family. They're getting together in their backyards or at the park. And perhaps they're not being as diligent as they should about wearing their mask, about being six feet or more from those other people that they love and care about."
"We're trying to limit the things we got out and do but it's kind of hard because we also want to continue to live our lives. So, it's just kind of in moderation going out and doing things. And when we do try to take as many safety precautions as we can," said Scott Miller, a Sumner resident visiting the Tacoma Farmer's Market.
Steele-Peter said people getting too relaxed in their safety and hygiene practices is one reason why the county is seeing a resurgence in cases.
"We're running into cases that we acquired from Fourth of July weekend. People going out on group vacations with extended family members, people flying in from other parts of the country maybe where there are more cases," said Steele-Peter.
Pierce County was approved on June 5th to move forward into Phase 2 of the Safe Start Washington plan. In early June, the county saw as little as five confirmed cases reported in a single day.
By the end of June, those reports spiked to more than 50 cases in a single day and numbers continued to increase through July. The health department said nearly 23 percent of confirmed cases in Pierce County are among young adults ages 20 to 29.
With 89 cases reported on July 16, the new peak brings new concerns to health officials.
"We need to shift our way of thinking. And we say here at the health department that this is a marathon. This is not a sprint. So we have to really get in that mindset, 'How am I going to engage with my friends and my family for the long term using these new methods of wearing the masks and social distancing?'" said Steele-Peter.
Crowds of cars and people packed a parking lot at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup waiting their turn for free COVID-19 testing.
The City of Puyallup said 1,000 tests were available and officials believe they hit that mark. The testing site began offering services at 9 A.M., Thursday.
"We actually had people in line at 5 a.m. this morning. So, there's a real demand out there," said Brenda Fristvold, a public information officer for the city.
Fristvold said the city wanted to offer the testing after seeing the growing trend in coronavirous cases across Pierce County and the state. She said the city will host another free COVID-19 testing day on August 20th at the fairgrounds. Those who participated in Thursday's testing can expect to receive results within five to seven days.
The health department also has several testing sites available throughout the county, including drive-thru testing. It offers COVID-19 information and updates daily.