3 new cases of COVID-19 brings Clark County total to 551Free

Only three new cases of coronavirus were reported Friday by Clark County Public Health after days double-digit jumps attributed to an outbreak at Firestone Pacific Foods in Vancouver.

The total number of cases in Clark County is at 551, with 25 deaths due to COVID-19. No new deaths have been reported since May 15.

As of Friday, 76 employees of Firestone have tested positive for novel coronavirus, though five are not Clark County residents; 44 close contacts of workers have also tested positive. Production has been suspended at Firestone though some portions of the operations at the company’s Fruit Valley locations continue.

According to the Public Health website, everyone who tests positive is instructed to isolate at home until they are no longer contagious. Public Health staff is interviewing all positive cases to identify and notify close contacts, who will be asked to quarantine for 14 days.

The Firestone outbreak put Clark County’s application to move to Phase 2 of reopening under Gov. Jay Inslee’s guidelines on pause, though the county submitted more information to the state Thursday. The health department is waiting for guidance and a timeline from the state on moving forward.

Six people are currently hospitalized for coronavirus in Clark County, with 3,413 hospitalized across the state.

Statewide, 20,764 people have been confirmed to have COVID-19 with 1,106 deaths. Snohomish, King, Pierce and Yakima counties each have more than 1,600 cases of the disease. Only Garfield County in eastern Washington has not had a confirmed case.