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[komonews.com]

Up to 64,000 coronavirus cases in Wash. by May 'if we don't take action'

by KOMO News StaffTuesday, March 10th 2020

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Up to 64,000 people could be infected with coronavirus in Washington state within two months if actions aren't taken now to stop its spread, Gov. Inslee said Tuesday.

Although the number of confirmed cases is now 162, Inslee said experts believe the actual number could be 1,000 or more at the present time.

"What the experts are telling us is ... the number of people who are infected will double in anywhere from 5 to 8 days ... unless we take some real action," the governor said at a morning news conference.

"And if you do the math, it gets very disturbing. ... If it's 1,000 (infections) today, in seven to eight weeks there could be 64,000 people infected in the state of Washington if we don't somehow slow down this epidemic. And in the next week it could be 120,000, and in the next week a quarter of a million."

"We need to look forward and get ahead of the curve in Washington state. If we're going to stop this epidemic or seriously slow it down, we need to focus on what's coming - not what's here today," Inslee added.

He then outlined a number of steps the state is taking to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including new rules for nursing homes and an expansion of unemployment benefits. These could be followed by more dramatic actions later, Inslee said.

New rules for nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Washington will limit patients to one person or visit per day, and all visitors must be screened for COVID-19. Visitors must sign into a log and volunteers or employees must be screened before each shift.

Inslee also announced an expansion of state policies today to support workers and businesses financially impacted by COVID-19.

He said the rules will help relieve the burden of temporary layoffs, isolation and quarantine by ensuring unemployment benefits are available to individuals whose employment has been impacted directly by COVID-19:

Workers will be able to receive unemployment benefits and employers will get relief of benefit charges if an employer needs to curtail or shut down operations temporarily because a worker becomes sick and other workers need to be isolated or quarantined as a result of COVID-19.
A worker that follows guidance issued by a medical or public health official to isolate or quarantine themselves as a result of exposure to COVID-19 and is not receiving paid sick leave from their employer, may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits.
If a worker falls seriously ill and is forced to quit, they may qualify for Paid Family Medical Leave while ill under the existing program. Once recovered and available for work, they may apply for unemployment benefits.
It removes the full-time requirement and expands standby ability to part time/less than full-time workers who are isolated

Washington state has experienced the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the nation, with at least 23 deaths. Nineteen of those deaths are linked to the Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland.

1 COVID death reported at Issaquah nursing home

Officials with the Issaquah Nursing and Rehabilitation Center say a resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died over the weekend.

"Our hearts are heavy with grief," a spokesperson wrote on the center's web page.

Five other residents have tested positive for the virus -- two are being treated at the center while three others are in off-site quarantine, the center said. In addition, two staff members have tested positive and are in quarantine away from the center and two others are awaiting test results.

No new cases were reported there Monday.

On the other hand, three Eastside Fire & Rescue firefighters who responded to the center earlier are in self-quarantine out of caution, according to Issaquah mayor Mary Lou Pauly. None of the three are showing any signs of sickness.

Officials are working with the CDC to track down visitors and vendors who have been at the center since Feb. 1.

"The CDC is also providing us with additional personal protective equipment," officials wrote. "We are grateful for the help and support they have provided."

Three cases of coronavirus have been confirmed at the Josephine Caring Community nursing home in Stanwood, and five other residents there are isolated due to possible infection.

As a result, the facility has gone into lockdown, and no family members are being allowed to visit.

"I had a lady in my lobby crying yesterday because she couldn't see her husband who she's been married to for 64 years," Josephine Caring Community CEO Terry Robertson. "We're going to get through this and hopefully it'll be quicker than later."

The first confirmed case at the facility, a woman in her 70s, tested positive on Sunday. Since then, two other patients, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 80s, have tested positive. All three have been taken to a local hospital.

The facility currently is awaiting test results for the five residents who are in isolation, along with two staff members.

Robertson said the facility has implemented a number of safety measures to cope with the coronavirus there, including no new admissions, staff checking all residents every four hours and suspension of all dining room and group activities.

Asked if anything surprised him about the coronavirus, Robertson replied, "That it's in my facility. ... And that it's so harsh. It's really, really harsh."