Despite hitting omicron peak, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations still high in Washington, Idaho

While Washington and Idaho have hit their omicron peaks, public health and hospital officials warn that could still mean more cases and hospitalizations being reported than ever seen earlier in the pandemic.

In Idaho, state health officials said case counts appear to have peaked statewide, although hospitalizations may not have. Three health districts in Idaho remain in crisis standards of care, meaning some types of treatment can be rationed.

“We’re not clear if hospitalizations have peaked yet, but we know cases have peaked in the past two weeks,” Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director David Jeppesen told reporters Tuesday.

North Idaho has avoided crisis standards of care this time around, and Jeppesen said that will likely remain the case. Kootenai Health had 90 COVID patients Tuesday, but just 21 patients who need intensive care, which is much less than during the delta wave.

Even with cases peaking, COVID activity is still very high in the Inland Northwest.

“The case numbers are crazy-high relative to what they’ve been earlier in the pandemic,” said Kathryn Turner, Idaho deputy state epidemiologist.

In Washington, hospitalizations are declining, predominantly on the West Side, but hospital leaders said now is not the time to take masks off.

“We’re still over the delta peak in terms of numbers and new daily cases,” Dr. Martin Brueggemann, chief medical officer at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, told reporters Tuesday.

“To say, ‘We’re out of this and can let our guard down,’ is really premature,” Brueggemann added.

The decline in cases in Washington has allowed some hospitals to begin working through their backlog of delayed procedures.

Still, deaths continue to increase. There are still 25 to 30 people dying every day “needlessly,” said Cassie Sauer, CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association.

More testing

On Tuesday, the Department of Health again opened its testing portal for residents to order four to five free at-home tests through sayyescovidhometest.org.

The department expects to distribute 1.45 million tests, serving 290,000 households, this time around.

The Spokane Regional Health District also announced that the drive-thru testing site at Spokane Falls Community College will expand its hours starting this week.

The SFCC site will be open seven days a week, starting Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The site offers PCR lab testing for those experiencing COVID symptoms or who have been exposed to the virus.

For more free community testing options, visit SRHD’s online testing page at covid.srhd.org/topics/covid-19-testing/community-testing-site.

Here’s a look at local numbers:

The Spokane Regional Health District reported 370 new COVID-19 cases and 18 additional deaths.

There have been 1,239 deaths due to COVID-19 in Spokane County residents.

There are 205 patients hospitalized with COVID in Spokane.

The Panhandle Health District reported 301 new COVID-19 cases and seven additional deaths.

There have been 860 deaths due to COVID-19 in Panhandle residents. There are 104 Panhandle residents hospitalized with the virus.