Clark County reported 1,493 new COVID-19 cases this week, the second-highest number of new cases recorded in a week since the pandemic began.
The rapid surge in cases mirrors statewide trends as the highly contagious omicron variant bears down on the state. For Dec. 29, the Washington Department of Health reported 6,888 new cases, the most cases tallied in a single day.
Nine new deaths were reported in Clark County this week. The deaths include two men and one woman in their 60s, three men and two women in their 70s and one woman age 80 or older, according to information released Thursday by Clark County Public Health.
To date, 597 people have died from COVID-19 in Clark County. Deaths are added to the county’s total 10 to 12 days after they occur.
The number of new cases rose by 84 percent over last week’s total, with 1,195 confirmed by molecular testing, for 43,684 to date, and 298 using antigen testing, for 5,315. Combined, the new cases work out to an average of about 213 new cases per day, up from about 116 new cases per day last week.
The 1,493 new cases this week were exceeded only by the 1,602 new cases reported in the seven days ending Sept. 2, during the peak of the delta variant wave of infections.
The number of active cases still in their isolation period increased to 1,601 this week, up from 886 last week, according to Public Health.
The COVID-19 activity rate, which measures new cases per 100,000 population over 14 days, increased from 263.2 per 100,000 last week to 437.3 as of Thursday. Any rate higher than 200 is considered high by health officials.
The rate of new hospital admissions increased this week, rising to 8.6 per 100,000 residents over seven days, up from 7.2 last week, according to Public Health data.
As of Tuesday, 85.3 percent of Clark County’s hospital beds and 81.5 percent of its ICU beds were occupied. Hospitals reported that 54 beds — accounting for 10.1 percent of total beds and 15.4 percent of ICU beds — were occupied by people with or suspected of having COVID-19.
The Washington Department of Health reported that as of Thursday, 67.2 percent of Clark County residents age 12 or older were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
