WENATCHEE — COVID-19 cases in North Central Washington are on a slow downtrend, according to local health officials, but the 14-day rate has plateaued recently.
As of Tuesday, the 14-day case rate in Chelan and Douglas counties was 188 per 100,000 people, according to Chelan-Douglas Health District data. In August, the rate was more than double that, at a rate of 444.05 per 100,000.
At Central Washington Hospital, one patient was hospitalized due to COVID-19 as of Tuesday, according to Confluence Health.
COVID-19 hospitalizations showed some increase at the start of October after the rate of hospitalizations declined during September, Dr. James Wallace, the Chelan-Douglas health officer, said at Monday’s board meeting.
The seven-day COVID-19 hospitalization count for all of Chelan and Douglas counties peaked at 19 hospitalizations in the week ending Oct. 2, according to state Department of Health data.
The count dropped to seven the week ending Oct. 8.
The lowest rate of hospitalizations in the area this year occurred in mid- to late-April, according to the state Department of Health.
Wallace said health officials are meeting with other health care partners later this week to determine what might have caused the uptick. Part of the issue could be connected with known outbreaks in some long-term care facilities, he said.
Two cases of monkeypox have been identified here in Chelan-Douglas counties but only one is from a resident.
The other case was identified in the area but the individual resides elsewhere, according to Wallace.
The health district has so far conducted “a lot of testing for monkeypox” as well as administered vaccinations for the disease for those with an elevated risk, he said.
Wallace said the monkeypox vaccine is readily available.
People who are at an elevated risk of monkeypox can reach out to their primary care provider or the health district for more information.
People at an elevated risk include: men who have sex with men, individuals with multiple sexual partners or anonymous sexual partners, individuals who have had substance use disorder in the past three months or experienced homelessness within the past three months and people of any ethnic minority group.
Wallace pointed out that people should not need to self-identify how they fit into the elevated risk category, but simply identify that they are at a higher risk for monkeypox.
People with questions about monkeypox or the vaccine’s availability can contact the Chelan-Douglas Health District’s Immunization Nurse at (509) 886-6482.
Oscar Rodriguez: (509) 665-1179
World staff writer
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