Jefferson County confirmed one new case of COVID-19 on Tuesday, while Clallam County reported no additional cases for the third consecutive day.
The case rates for both counties remained stable, with Clallam County’s case rate being 28 cases per 100,000 residents for the last two weeks, while Jefferson County’s case rate was about 25 per 100,000 for the same time period.
Clallam County continues to be in the state’s moderate-risk category for case rates between 26 and 75 per 100,000, while Jefferson County is at the high end of the low-risk category of 25 per 100,000 or fewer.
The newest case in Jefferson County is a female teen who is thought to have contracted the novel coronavirus through community transmission, but the investigation was still on-going as of Tuesday, said Dr. Tom Locke, county health officer.
‘Complex’ situations
Clallam County Public Health officials worked to finish contact tracing for some recent cases on Tuesday, due to some having “complex” situations, said Dr. Allison Unthank, Clallam County health officer.
Both health departments are evaluating their emergency plans, in preparation for a possible surge in case numbers in the upcoming weeks, as the state’s overall case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise.
“We know that we’re going to have to work really hard to keep our numbers low as numbers rise around us, so we’re doing a lot of preventative work,” Unthank said.
The preventative work includes reaching out to local businesses and long-term care facilities to make sure they’re up to date on their outbreak prevention plans, to reduce future transmission, she said.
Locke said officials are preparing for possible unrest after Tuesday’s general election as a precaution.
“We’re hoping to not see any election-related unrest,” Locke said. “That’s another thing we’re planning on. In addition to being a public safety kind of risk, it can be a public health risk too.
“We’re urging people to stay calm and let the democratic process do its thing.”
Clallam County has confirmed 286 cases of COVID-19 since March, with 12 active cases, two patients currently hospitalized and one death, according to Clallam County Public Health data.
Jefferson County has confirmed 90 cases of COVID-19 since March, with at least five active cases and no deaths, Locke said.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5 or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
