New COVID-19 outbreak reported at Yakima long-term care center - Yakima Herald-Republic
FILE — Andre Fresco, executive director of the Yakima Health District, encourages social distancing during a special meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at Yakima City Hall in Yakima, Wash.Teresa Everson joined the Yakima Health District in 2018 as health officer.
FILE — Andre Fresco, executive director of the Yakima Health District, encourages social distancing during a special meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at Yakima City Hall in Yakima, Wash.Teresa Everson joined the Yakima Health District in 2018 as health officer.
Health officials are asking people to do everything they can to stop the spread of COVID-19 after a new coronavirus outbreak was reported at a long-term care center in Yakima.The Summitview Health care Center in Yakima reported 50 cases of COVID-19, with 27 from staff and 23 from residents, according to a news release from the Yakima Health District.The cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but haven’t yet been included in the Yakima Health District totals.
The health district said it will note when the numbers are included in daily totals on its website.
The health district reported 71 new cases Thursday, not including the care center outbreak numbers.Teresa Everson said most, if not all, COVID-19 cases in long-term living facilities result from community transmission.
There’s time to stop an increase in cases in the Yakima area so it doesn’t reach more vulnerable community members, she said.
The health district said it expects hospitalizations will continue to increase in coming weeks as case numbers rise.
Health district Executive Director Andre Fresco said people should eliminate unnecessary contact with non-household members, wear a mask, wash their hands frequently and sanitize surfaces8“It is not any one intervention that will ensure Yakima can beat this rise in COVID-19 cases again.Jay Inslee’s office tightening COVID-19 restrictions as cases rise.
The order said COVID-19 infections have continued to increase with 1,008 infections and 37 deaths within the Yakama reservation and off-reservation trust allotments