Inslee to outline new policies as coronavirus deaths hit 22

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee plans to announce new policies Tuesday to support workers and businesses impacted by the new coronavirus and detail new rules for long-term care centers.

The number of deaths is now at least 22, with 19 linked to the Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland. Health officials report more than 160 cases statewide.

Life Care Center spokesman Tim Killian said Monday that 31 residents still in the facility have tested positive for the virus. Tests results are pending on other residents. Killian said residents who have tested positive will be treated at the Life Care Center, and those who test negative will be moved to a different area of the facility.

Before the outbreak there were 120 residents at Life Care. Now, there are fewer than 60.

In a statement Saturday, Life Care said 70 of its 180 employees have shown COVID-19 symptoms and are no longer working.

Over the weekend a team of 30 medical professionals from the U.S. Public Health Service began arriving at Life Care to relieve exhausted — and ill — staff.

Meanwhile, Boeing officials said in a statement Monday that the company is providing support to an employee at its Everett facility who tested positive. Officials said the employee is in quarantine receiving treatment.

Just north of Seattle, all schools in the Snohomish School District are closed on Tuesday after an employee in its transportation department tested positive. Officials said the transportation facility would close for cleaning and that would impact the ability to transport students.

Seattle band Pearl Jam said Monday it was postponing the first leg of its North American 2020 tour because of the virus.

“We’ve worked hard with all our management and business associates to find other solutions or options but the levels of risk to our audience and their communities is simply too high for our comfort level,” the band said on Twitter.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the new virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover. In China, more than 80,000 people have been diagnosed and more than 58,000 have so far recovered.

One of the new cases in the Seattle area was a first responder in Kirkland.

Thirty-one Kirkland firefighters and three police officers are in quarantine, while six have been released after completing their quarantine period without developing symptoms, officials said. Most are in isolation or quarantine at home.

First responders who developed symptoms have been tested and eight came back negative, but one recently tested positive for the disease, officials said in a release.

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AP reporter Lisa Baumann contributed from Seattle.