Jefferson County clear of all COVID-19 cases

PORT ANGELES — Jefferson County had no active COVID-19 cases as of Saturday while Clallam County had nine active cases.

Jefferson County has had just one reported positive test result all month.

Clallam County reported one new case Saturday. It was a locally transmitted case, said Dr. Allison Unthank, county health officer.

The infection rate in Clallam County is at 21 per 100,000 population over the past two weeks, which keeps the county in the low-risk category, Unthank said.

Clallam County schools plan to begin transitioning from total remote learning to in-person instruction Oct.5 because of the low infection rate, down from the high-risk category it was in when schools opened earlier this month.

The infection rate in Jefferson County is still listed at 3 per 100,000 and it will be Monday before that will be updated.

Dr. Tom Locke, Jefferson County health officer, said that with no new positives Saturday, “we currently have no active cases” which would put the infection rate at 0 per 100,000.

“It’s really what we want to see,” Locke said.

Jefferson County has had a total of 71 COVID-19 positives since March. Clallam County has had a total of 242 positives since March.

At her weekly COVID-19 undate on Friday, Unthank largely talked about schools reopening. She said the county’s infection rate continues to be low enough to allow some in-person instruction at county schools. She also said it’s a big improvement over this summer, when the infection rate got as high as 97 per 100,000 over two weeks in Clallam County.

“It’s not quite as low as we want, but it’s better than it was,” she said.

Schools will be taking myriad precautions, such as having students sit 6 feet apart, requiring masks for students and teachers and spacing children on buses.

“There really are a lot of rules,” Unthank said.

As soon as students show fever or symptoms of any illness, they are immediately sent home and asked to take COVID-19 tests. Even those who don’t get tested will be required to stay home for at least 10 days.

Unthank said it’s important to get young children back in schools because online learning isn’t as effective for them as for older students.

“Young children can’t learn from home,” she said.

Prep sports

As far as starting prep athletics again, much of the direction for that will come from the state. She expects that guidance within the next couple of weeks.

Local schools are for now scheduled to begin athletics again at the end of December if all goes to plan.

However, she stressed that getting schools open for in-person instruction will take precedence.

“I expect the state to prioritize school learning over athletics,” she said.

Unthank also said the persistence of the pandemic is taking a mental health toll on many. She said people need to understand that everything can’t simply be opened back up again because that would likely cause big spikes in cases — which in turn would make the pandemic worse and increasde mental health pressures.

“There’s no shortcut to get through this,” she said.

”I wish it was possible to open everything up and keep the rates low, but it just isn’t. Pretty much all of us are suffering in one way or another.”

People have lost jobs, teachers are teaching from home, some face losing their homes, some can’t hug their loved ones. People need to realize this is the fault of the virus, she said.

“I just want folks to remember that the primary thing we’re fighting is this virus, not each other,” she said.

“We need to come together right now and support each other as we face this pandemic.”

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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be reached at plbossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.