Clark County Public Health on Monday reported three new deaths associated with COVID-19 and 92 new positive tests since Friday.
The three deaths were a woman in her 60s with underlying health conditions, and a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s with underlying conditions undetermined.
To date, 1,526 Clark County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and 37 people have died, according to Public Health.
There are 22 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 at PeaceHealth Southwest and Legacy Salmon Creek medical centers. Another six people are hospitalized awaiting test results, Public Health reported.
The new cases work out to an average of more than 30 new cases per day. The county’s infection rate, which measures the number of new cases over a two-week period per 100,000 population, was at 54.5, more than double the level allowed for the state to relax restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus.
Public Health reported 254 new cases in the past seven days in Clark County, or an average of just over 36 new cases a day.
On Monday, Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced that he is returning all COVID-19 “Safe Start” applications, including Clark County’s, which had been put on pause as the number of cases surged statewide. Clark County is currently in Phase 2 and had been seeking to move to Phase 3.
The Washington Department of Health released a report on Friday that described the current situation with the coronavirus as “explosive” with an accelerated spread across most areas and an increased infection rate in all age groups, including children and teens.
“Washington state is in the early stages of an exponential statewide outbreak that has zero chance of being reversed without changes to our collective behavior and policies to support that change,” the report said.
“If current trends continue, we expect that schools will not be able to reopen safely in the fall,” the report said. “Further transmission control will require enhanced compliance with masking and distancing policies and further restricting gatherings that likely fuel virus spread.”
