Clark County recorded 187 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths on Thursday as state health officials noted that disease transmission appears to be hitting a plateau.
The new cases push Clark County’s total COVID-19 cases to 12,264 to date. The county averaged about 122 new cases per day this week, which is down from about 144 a week last week about about 179 new cases a week the week before, according to data from Clark County Public Health.
Those declining case numbers were reflected in an activity level that fell for the first time since August, dropping to 450.56 new cases to 433.9 new cases per 100,000 population over two weeks, according to Public Health data.
The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Clark County was unchanged on Thursday at 137. There were two deaths reported this week, down from eight deaths last week and 15 deaths the week before, according to Public Health data.
Hospitalizations also fell, with 37 people hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 51 on Wednesday, and eight people hospitalized awaiting test results, up from six the day before, according to Public Health data.
The number of active cases, which tracks those still in their isolation period, was 814 on Thursday, up from 788 the day before, according to Public Health data.
The Washington State Department of Health issued an update on the pandemic on Thursday that noted what it called “substantial decreases in transmission” that have led to a plateauing of new cases but not to return to lower disease activity seen earlier this year.
“It is encouraging to see that those efforts have helped the state avoid a post-Thanksgiving spike,” said Dr. Umair A. Shah, secretary of health at DOH said in a statement. “If we want to maintain this progress going into the new year, we must take every precaution possible including limiting in-person celebrations to our immediate households.”
Data will not be updated until Monday.
