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EVERETT – State and local health experts on Tuesday expressed, in terrible terms, the need for people to act immediately to stop the spread of COVID-19.
New cases of the coronavirus far exceed previous records in Snohomish County and statewide, while hospitalizations are also increasing. Officials have warned that if the situation does not improve, they will reimpose certain restrictions on businesses and social gatherings so that the healthcare system is not overwhelmed with sick people.
“If we had a dashboard, every light would flash red and every horn would go off,” Snohomish County Manager Dave Somers said at a media briefing. “The third wave of the virus appears to be the biggest wave to date. The fact that we are entering the winter months with the highest number of cases yet should have everyone shivering.
Gatherings, especially those indoors, where people are not wearing masks, are a big factor in the current wave of infections, experts say. So wear a mask, wash your hands, and socialize with only five people outside your household each week.
“We know what stops cases of COVID-19, we just have to do it,” John Lynch, an infectious disease physician at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said in a separate briefing with health experts local and state.
As the holiday season approaches, they said, it’s too dangerous to celebrate with people outside your immediate household.
“It’s important to know that we can get COVID from people we know, love and trust,” said public health official Lacey Fehrenbach.
Snohomish County health official Dr Chris Spitters said further restrictions would be “inevitable” if people did not act immediately.
“Not after the holidays, not next week, not tomorrow – now,” he said.
State health officials and Governor Gov. Jay Inslee’s chief of staff have acknowledged that pandemic fatigue has set in. But they also warned that unless people manage to overcome their exhaustion and change their behavior, further action will be needed – perhaps even a statewide stay at home an order like that imposed. last spring.
“Everything is on the table,” said Kathy Lofy, head of public health. “Unfortunately, if we continue on this trajectory, we may have to at some point” resume restrictions.
Inslee is on vacation but is expected to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss the situation.
David Postman, his chief of staff, said there is nothing stopping the governor from acting immediately, but he wants to give people a chance to “recalibrate” their behavior to flatten the curve.
“That’s the plan. We need people to take this seriously,” Postman said.
If Tuesday’s appeal by health officials does not bear fruit, “we’ll have another press conference to talk about the restrictions,” Postman said.
King County health official Dr Jeff Duchin has warned that if the pandemic worsens authorities will need to act quickly.
“COVID-19 is a viral wildfire and we are the fuel,” he said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to wait and see what works.”
Snohomish County recorded more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 last week, according to the Snohomish Health District. There were four days which each surpassed a day’s highest total of 140. The new high is 250.
The latest two-week case tally, which ended on Saturday, recorded nearly 190 infections per 100,000 people in Snohomish County. Six weeks ago it was 46.
The previous record, reached in March, was 129.
At the same time, the number of people hospitalized with the virus, a figure that hovered in the mid-1920s last week, rose to 44 by Tuesday morning. If the situation worsens, as expected, it will test the capacity of hospitals in the area, Spitters said.
“It’s happening statewide,” he said. “We have nowhere else to send our patients if we run out of space here. It is certainly a warning signal. What we are seeing today in hospitals is a transmission that occurred three weeks ago.
A potential lack of beds and protective equipment is not the only concern.
A shortage of nurses could mean beds will not be used because there are no staff to care for patients.
Deaths from COVID are also on the rise.
Of the 35 deaths reported in October, 20% of them were people under the age of 50, Spitters said.
“These are grim numbers that we are looking at,” he said. “I think we have to accept that we may be having a very long winter.”
Across the county, indoor social gatherings where people are not wearing masks are a major factor in the spread of the virus, Spitters said.
“When is it a good idea to have more than five?” Never, ”Spitters said.
But the transmission of the virus “comes from all directions,” he added.
“When you have that much transmission in the community, and an economy that’s trying to open up, sick people show up for work,” Spitters said. “They might not be feeling sick then, but someone has tested positive or they get sick and go home and then test positive, and now we have a case at work and they might have infected someone else.
However, workplace clusters of more than five cases are rare, he said.
The increase in cases is not the result of an increase in testing.
Although more testing is being done in Snohomish County, the positivity rate, as well as the number of people with symptoms getting tested, has also increased, according to a weekly report from the Health District.
The county’s largest testing provider reported a 10% positivity rate last week, with 15% of tests coming back positive last weekend, Spitters said during Tuesday’s call with leaders of the State.
Six weeks ago, less than 3% of countywide tests were positive.
The weekly report also lists 19 outbreaks at businesses in the county, including four restaurants, two retail stores, a government agency, a gym, a bar and a school.
One restaurant has been linked to 11 infections.
Spitters declined to identify the companies.
If there is a threat of exposing customers, the health district will identify and close the business, he said.
“Usually the problem is behind the counter, or in the kitchen, and customers don’t meet the definition of a contact, in terms of time and proximity,” he said.
Cases also arise in about six long-term care homes. At one Monroe facility, there have been 55 cases and the outbreak is not considered resolved.
The sad news comes the same week that pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced it could have developed a vaccine that will be up to 90% effective against the virus.
Somers said the county was ready to distribute a vaccine, with the first doses going to the most vulnerable populations.
However, it will take several months, and maybe a year, before one becomes available to everyone.
“The fruits of the vaccine offers are not imminent,” Spitters said. “They are not going to help us with this current wave. They may not even help us if there is a fourth wave.
Herald writer Jerry Cornfield contributed to this story.
Joey Thompson: 425-339-3449; [email protected]. Twitter: @byjoeythompson.
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