COVID-19 numbers trending downward, but Washington remains in ‘precarious situation’ as holidays approach

The spread of COVID-19 in Washington seems to be plateauing, and potentially trending downward, but health officials still are cautious, especially as the holidays near.

Statistical models show the number of positive tests, deaths and total case counts are starting to plateau, state epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist said in a Wednesday news briefing.

“I don’t want us to think even in this downturn that we are out of the woods,” Lindquist said. “We remain in a very high, precarious situation still in Washington state.”

The most recent peak in case counts from November and early December is still significantly higher than the previous peak in March, Lindquist said. Most cases are coming from people between 20 and 50 years old while most deaths are coming from people older than that.

It could be one of the reasons Washington isn’t experiencing such high death count increases as in other states, Lindquist said.

“Our efforts to avoid a post-Thanksgiving spike seemed to have worked,” deputy secretary of health Lacy Fehrenbach said. “We need to do the same thing for the remaining holidays.”

The state is still in the first half of the pandemic, said Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah, who officially started on Monday.

“This is a long road,” Shah said.

As more people begin to get vaccinated, Shah said he has “a lot of hope and optimism” for what the second half of the pandemic will look like. However, the state is still far from getting vaccinations out to the general public.

So far, 30,000 high-risk health care workers have been vaccinated. The state allocated 44,850 additional Pfizer-BioNTech doses and 127,900 Moderna doses this week. Spokane County is expected to receive 15,800 Moderna doses, according to the state Department of Health.

Many of the week’s shipments arrived Wednesday. The number of doses the state receives will be updated on a week-by-week basis.

Those doses will continue to be used to vaccinate those in the first prioritization category, which includes high-risk health care workers, first responders and those in longterm care facilities.

MultiCare Health System announced Wednesday it has received its first shipment of the Moderna vaccine for its Inland Northwest facilities, including Valley and Deaconess hospitals, according to a news release. The health system committed to using 20% of its allotments for local first responders and high-risk health care workers.

“This is a historic day in our fight against COVID-19,” Senior Vice President and MultiCare’s Inland Northwest Chief Executive Dr. David O’Brien said in the release. “While this certainly is a momentous occasion in the pandemic, I want to remind the general public that they need to continue wearing a mask, washing their hands frequently, and limiting holiday gatherings to those who live in the same household.”

Spokane Regional Health District Interim Health Officer Dr. Francisco Velazquez said he is “cautiously optimistic” about the current situation in Spokane, although he is unable to see a clear trend based on daily case counts.

However, as the holidays approach, Velazquez urged residents to stay at home as that is the only way to get through the holiday season without a spike.

“Life will get better and easier as we get into 2021,” he told reporters Wednesday.

The Spokane Regional Health District reported 381 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. The district confirmed three more deaths due to COVID-19. There are currently 66 county residents hospitalized.

The Panhandle Health District confirmed 205 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday. Four more people died, bringing the five-county district total to 153 deaths due to the virus. Currently, there are 98 people in the district hospitalized for COVID-19, with 91 patients at Kootenai Health.