COVID-19 cases appear to be plateauing, but not yet declining
COVID-19 cases appear to be plateauing statewide and locally.
While daily case counts continue to spike up and down in Spokane County, COVID activity does not yet appear to be on the decline.
Hospitalizations, similarly, appear to no longer be increasing statewide and might be leveling off.
“We are hopeful to see those numbers go down because we’re still stressing the system,” Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association, told reporters on Monday. “People who go to the hospital now are still really sick.”
While younger people with COVID-19 might have shorter hospital stays, there are still patients staying for weeks at a time, hospital officials told reporters on Monday.
After the outbreak in Republic, hospital officials there had to transfer many patients out for more intensive treatment.
In the last three weeks, nine patients had to be airlifted out of Republic to other hospitals, Cindy Chase, chief nursing officer at Ferry County Hospital, said. Two people who were hospitalized following the outbreak have died from the virus.
Hospital officials asked community members to get vaccinated to continue to bring the state closer to the end of the pandemic. Sauer said the state has flipped from having too much demand and not enough vaccines to having more than enough supply, with less demand.
“We’re now in the ‘too much supply’ phase,” she said. “You can get a vaccine just about anywhere.”
To find vaccines closest to you, visit the state’s vaccine locator tool or call 1-833-VAX-HELP, then press #, for more information about transportation or accessibility to the vaccine.
Here’s a look at local numbers:
The Spokane Regional Health District confirmed 98 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and one death over the weekend.
There have been 621 deaths due to COVID-19 in Spokane County residents.
There are 77 patients hospitalized in Spokane with the virus.
The Panhandle Health District confirmed 71 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend and on Monday and no additional deaths.
There are 22 Panhandle residents hospitalized with the virus.