Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2022)
June 8, 2022 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 9 Washington Hospitals Again Strained By COVID-19 Spread State health officials urge mask-wearing The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Hospital officials in Washington are urging people to wear masks and warning that facilities are heading toward anoth- er COVID-19 case peak amid high spread in the communi- ty. Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer on Monday said at the end of last week, almost 600 people with COVID-19 were in hos- pitals across the state with about 20-25 patients a day on ventilators, The News Tribune reported. That compares with an av- erage of around 230 hospital- ized cases in the daily census in April and 1,700 in February during the Omicron wave. In response to the rising hospitalizations, officials on a media briefing call Mon- day implored people to wear high-quality masks indoors in crowded, public spaces, and to get COVID-19 booster shots on top of vaccinations. “It’s still something you don’t want to get and we want to urge you to do everything you can to protect yourself,” said Cassie Sauer, Washing- ton State Hospital Associa- tion CEO. Rising case numbers and hospitalization rates prompt- ed state public health officials to urge indoor masking two weeks ago, but they stopped short of announcing new statewide mandates. “ We want to urge you to do everything you can to protect your- self Community spread is also affecting health care workers and straining hospital staff- ing levels, officials said. “When there’s COVID in the community, there’s COVID among staff members as well,” said Dr. Chris Baliga, infectious disease specialist at Virginia Mason Francis- can Health, noting again that a COVID-19 infection can re- move a health care worker from the workplace for at least 10 days. Dr. David Carlson, execu- tive vice president Provider Enterprise and chief physi- cian officer for MultiCare, which has hospitals and clin- ics around the state, said his health system was running at about 120% of normal ca- pacity, faced not just with COVID-19 cases but “pent-up demand” for care that went unaddressed in the pandem- ic’s early days. Officials on Monday said if people test positive many should seek treatment as quickly as possible given the long list of qualifying condi- tions for COVID-19 therapeu- tics, such as Paxlovid. “We are at a point where we have supplies for all of this. Feel free to reach out to providers to try to get them,” Baliga said. Dr. Steven Mitchell with the Washington Medical Coordi- nation Center at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle said that requests from hospitals for help in easing patients loads with transfers have doubled in recent days. “Our health care system continues to be remarkably strained,” he said. News Seattle Police Expand Body- Worn Camera Use The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Se- attle police officers assigned to federal law enforcement task forces will now be re- quired to wear and ac- tivate body-worn cam- eras during arrests. Interim police Chief Adrian Diaz updated the agency’s policy after an Seattle detec- tive was one of three officers who fatally shot California homi- cide suspect Marshall Jones III last week in the Seattle suburb of Kent, The Seattle Times reported. Officers were trying (Photo/Remy Gieling) to arrest him in the January disappear- ance and presumed Offender Task Force — opened death of his ex-girlfriend, fire on Jones last Wednesday 24-year-old Alexis Gabe. when he charged the officers The updated policy will en- with a knife, according to Seat- sure encounters with suspects tle police. are captured on video — and Diaz said the policy update provide consistency for Seattle will affect eight to 10 Seattle of- officers working with federal ficers who serve on such inter- and state agencies, Diaz said. agency teams. Seattle Detective Matthew “When you’re not providing Lilje, a Snohomish County information about an inci- sheriff ’s detective and a deputy dent or you don’t see a video, it U.S. marshal — all assigned to leaves a lot of questions for the the Pacific Northwest Violent community,” Diaz said.
