Clark County confirmed three more COVID-19 cases Monday morning, and one of the cases has already died.
A man in his 80s, who was tested and hospitalized last week, died March 19, according to a Clark County Public Health news release.
One of the new cases is a woman in her 30s, who has been hospitalized. She had no known contact with a confirmed case. The third newly announced case is a man in his 50s, who had close contact with a confirmed case in Clark County and was quarantined. He is now recovering at home.
Clark County has started to experience an uptick in cases. Nine of the county’s cases have been confirmed in the last four days. On Friday, Clark County Public Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick told The Columbian that he expects an increase of confirmed cases soon.
Clark County’s four COVID-19 deaths give it the third-highest death count in the state behind King (87 deaths) and Snohomish (11) counties, according to the Washington Department of Health. There are 10 counties that have more confirmed cases.
Local officials have been trying to procure more supplies for testing, so the county can have a better idea of how widespread the virus is locally.
“I see us as the next likely area where the numbers are going to increase rapidly,” Melnick said Friday.
The county has confirmed 13 cases, and four people have died from the virus. The county has received 285 negative test results so far.
The woman in her 30s is the youngest case to be hospitalized in Clark County so far. The majority of cases have been 60 and older so far, but there have been four cases younger than 60: two women in their 40s, a man in his 50s and the woman in her 30s.
Mortality rates
While mortality rates remain significantly lower for those younger than 60, hospitalizations do occur for younger populations, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Confirmed cases in the U.S. that are between 20 and 44 years old have been hospitalized 14.3 percent of the time. Two percent have reached the intensive care unit, and 0.1 percent have died. For the 45- to 54-year-old age range, 21 percent of cases have been hospitalized, while 5.4 reached the ICU and 0.5 percent have died.
For ages 75 to 84 in the U.S., 30.5 percent have been hospitalized and 10.4 percent have died.
Public Health will update the number of positive tests by 11 am daily. Visit the novel coronavirus website for updates.
