PORT ANGELES — The North Olympic Peninsula got a short reprieve with a relatively quiet day for COVID-19 cases with three new positives reported Sunday.
That is the fewest reported in a single day in weeks on the two-county peninsula.
Clallam County reported one new case Sunday while Jefferson County reported two new positives.
That gives Clallam County 488 total cases since March and 151 active and three people currently hospitalized. The county’s infection rate is 203 per 100,000 population during the past two weeks, according to Clallam County Health Officer Dr. Allison Unthank.
Jefferson County’s total reached 162 cases since March with 26 active. The county’s infection rate is listed at 156.74, but Jefferson County Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke suspects it will drop when it’s recalculated today.
After a big surge a couple of weeks ago, the county has only had 14 new positives this week. Locke estimated the new infection rate could be about 125 per 100,000 unless there are a lot of positives late Sunday.
Locke said he understands some people had out-of-county visitors for the holiday and others traveled to see family out of state. He said those people should quarantine if they’ve left the state and be extra careful if they had visitors.
“Now they need to take special precautions,” he said.
Locke also said it’s possible that schools in Jefferson County have a variety of plans to deal with the virus.
Many schools in both counties went to full virtual learning today. But Locke thinks Jefferson County schools might be able to reopen by Christmas, if new cases stay low.
“We haven’t given up on the idea of in-person schooling by any means,” he said.
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Sports editor Pierre LaBossiere can be reached by email at plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
