COVID-19 case counts have plateaued in Spokane County, and Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz said trends in the past few weeks have been “encouraging.”

While Lutz stopped short of saying COVID-19 cases are officially on the decline, he did note that the county appears to be seeing a drop in case counts, especially in younger demographics that initially drove case counts this summer.

The Spokane Regional Health District confirmed 24 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, a noteworthy drop in daily cases recorded in recent weeks. On Sunday, August 16 there were 19 new cases confirmed. Over the weekend, 66 total COVID-19 cases were confirmed.

While just two weeks cannot define a trend, Lutz said that cases in county residents older than 40 had increased in recent weeks. As predicted by health officials, large numbers of young people in a community with COVID-19 led to adults they live with or work with to become infected, too.

“In the beginning of July, we were looking at a lot more cases in the 20-29 age group, predicting that we would see older age groups, unfortunately, come down with cases, which is what we’ve been seeing,” Lutz said.

Spokane County residents older than 50 disproportionately make up the majority of residents hospitalized with the virus.

Hospitalizations, however, appear to have peaked in the county, Lutz said, noting the “bright spot” in county data.

There are 47 patients hospitalized in Spokane hospitals due to COVID-19, and 33 of them are county residents. These numbers represent a significant drop in those requiring hospitalization for the virus. Last Friday, there were 70 total patients in Spokane hospitals receiving treatment for COVID-19.

More hospitalizations led to more deaths in residents due to COVID-19 in recent weeks. Over the weekend, six more county residents died from the virus, bringing the county’s death toll over the 100-mark with 101 recorded deaths from the virus locally.

Lutz said that modeling data suggests that statewide mask mandates have made a difference in slowing the spread of the virus locally.

The incidence rate for the virus in Spokane County, a key metric used to evaluate a region’s readiness to let students meet in-person for school, has lowered in the last few weeks. Previously the incidence rate in Spokane County was more than 200 cases per 100,000 residents. In the last two weeks recorded by the state health department, it is down to 177 cases per 100,000 residents.

The Department of Health as well as local health officials do not recommend in-person learning for school districts in counties with incidence rates higher than 75 cases per 100,000 residents.

The state health department released recommendations for schools to safely reopen, but the department does not have direct authority over districts’ decisions.

Lutz said Monday that local health officers in some counties have taken the department’s guidance a step further, however, and required districts to offer only online or remote education based on incidence rates of the virus there. Lutz said he does have the authority to do that, although he hopes not to.

The trajectory for case counts in Spokane County looks promising as it plateaus, although Lutz noted that optimistic data should not result in residents not distancing or wearing face coverings.

“We have not been seeing that upward trajectory of that curve, so I want to keep on that trajectory and see it hopefully going down,” he said. “And that’s only going to happen with people continuing to be vigilant and do the right thing.”