One new case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Clallam County on Tuesday while Jefferson County held steady with no new cases.
Clallam County’s new infection rate is 22 cases per 100,000 residents for the last two weeks, while Jefferson County’s is at 9.4 cases per 100,000 for the same time period.
Both counties are in the state’s low-risk category.
The nation is seeing rising COVID-19 case numbers again, and so is the state, said Dr. Allison Unthank, Clallam County health officer.
“We are starting to see a rise in cases statewide and the rest of the country. It is starting to kind of look like the beginning of a third wave in the state,” Unthank said.
“We haven’t seen that yet in Clallam County, so we’re just really trying to encourage folks to continue to take things seriously, continue to wear your mask, continue to keep your spacing and if we continue to do that, the hope is that we can prevent a third wave here and keep our kids in schools and actually get more kids in schools sooner rather than later.”
The recent COVID-19 testing event saw all tests return negative results, Unthank said.
“We’re hopeful that wave of infection may have peaked and been decreasing in recent days,” she said.
Unthank is concerned that comments from members of the federal government, such as President Donald Trump, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak within the White House and other parts of Washington, D.C., may lead people to let down their guard in regard to the virus.
“We’re really just trying to encourage folks that this virus is still serious and a big part as to why we have done so well is because most folks are taking precautions seriously,” Unthank said.
“We just don’t want anyone to let their guard down because of the statements coming out of the federal government.”
Both Unthank and Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke have been encouraging residents to get vaccinated for the flu to ward off having a bad flu season on top of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The common flu shot is available at most local pharmacies, as well as hospital clinics.
Clallam County pharmacies have seen a “dramatic increase” in requests for flu shots this year compared to previous years, said Unthank.
Clallam County has confirmed 253 cases of COVID-19 since March, with 12 active cases and one death, according to Clallam County Public Health data.
Jefferson County has confirmed 75 cases of COVID-19 since March, with four active cases and no deaths, according to Jefferson County Public Health data.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
