Clark County’s rate of COVID-19 infections decreased slightly this week, as did rates of new hospitalizations, according to the latest data from Clark County Public Health.
The county continues to remain in the low-risk category for disease transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The COVID-19 activity rate, which measures new cases per 100,000 population over seven days, decreased from 78.3 last week to 75.3 as of Thursday, according to Clark County Public Health data.
Though Clark County remains in the low-risk category, health officials still advise residents to use tools such as vaccinations, testing and mask wearing to continue to slow the spread, according to Lacy Fehrenbach, the chief of prevention, safety and health at the Washington State Department of Health.
Clark County Public Health reported 383 new cases this week, pushing the total recorded cases to 105,199 to date.
If you test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test, health officials ask that you report it to the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127. The CDC recommends that you stay home for at least five days upon testing positive.
There were eight deaths from COVID-19 reported this week, bringing the county’s total to 922 to date.
Clark County hospitals were treating 42 people with or suspected of having COVID-19 as of this week, down from 51 last week. The rate of new hospital admissions over seven days decreased to 6 per 100,000 over seven days, down from 8.4 last week.
Hospitals remain near capacity, with 97.5 percent of hospital beds occupied and 94.8 percent of ICU beds occupied. Patients with or suspected of having COVID-19 accounted for 8 percent of hospital beds and 10.3 percent of intensive care unit beds, according to Public Health data.
Washington will no longer be in a state of emergency due to COVID-19 as of Nov. 1, according to Fehrenbach. That does not mean the end of COVID-19, she emphasized in a media briefing Thursday.
As flu season begins soon, health officials recommend anyone over the age of 6 get their flu vaccine, which can be received along with a COVID-19 vaccine or booster, according to Michele Roberts, assistant secretary for prevention, safety and health at the Washington State Department of Health.
