Lewis County Sees Biggest Jump in COVID-19 Cases Ever

Fifth Wave: Cases Skyrocket With Unrestricted Fair, Loggers’ Jubilee on Horizon

Posted

COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing in Lewis County, with officials announcing the most-ever cases reported in one week: 278. But as of this week, no restrictions are planned for major upcoming events, including the Morton Loggers’ Jubilee and the six-day, much-anticipated Southwest Washington Fair.

This week, Lewis County’s COVID-19 case rate more than doubled, surging to 401.2 per 100,000, according to state data. Only five counties are experiencing higher case rates, including nearby Cowlitz County at 507.7. Twenty-four Lewis County residents were hospitalized for the virus over the course of seven days, further exacerbating what officials have described as packed hospitals.

Still, major local events will commence in the next few days, drawing in large crowds. Morton Mayor Dan Mortensen told The Chronicle that no capacity restrictions are planned for the town's Loggers’ Jubilee. He noted that the event is outdoors. Lewis County’s new fairgrounds director, Connie Riker, had a similar message:

“Anyone who is not vaccinated is required (by the state) to wear a mask indoors,” she said. “However, that is something that’s a very individual decision, and there will not be anyone asking those questions (at the fair) because it’s based on each individual citizen doing what’s best for them.”

On Tuesday morning, Riker helped introduce the top Little Miss Friendly contestants to county commissioners. The five young girls, all sporting masks, are vying to be the fair’s “living logo.” The introduction was immediately followed by Providence Chief Executive Darin Goss describing local hospitals struggling with capacity.

“We do have about 50 COVID patients between our St. Peter and Centralia hospitals. That’s close to our highest that we’ve seen during the pandemic,” Goss said. “And our predicted models show that we will surpass that.”

While public health officials will be offering vaccines at the Morton Loggers’ Jubilee and the fair, officials and organizers don’t plan on enforcing social distancing, capacity limits or mask requirements as of this week.

Public Health Director JP Anderson said the county is ready for any contingency, and is monitoring quickly-changing COVID metrics. The surge threw a wrench into public health officials’ plans to begin winding down their pandemic response.

The highly-transmissible delta variant is now believed to make up 95% or more of positive COVID cases in the state and in Lewis County. Its prevalence makes the community more prone to outbreaks, like the recent UNFI and Chehalis treatment center outbreaks.



“By the time you know (delta) is there, if you’ve not been acting like it’s already there, it’s too late,” Anderson said at a local board of health meeting this week. “And it’s really probably gone through anyone who’s not vaccinated or anyone who’s not socially distanced.”

In April and May, case rates increased more gradually, said Lewis County Health Officer Dr. Steven Krager, but Lewis County’s rates are “just kind of headed straight up right now, and we don’t know how high that rate’s going to go.”

Lifted restrictions and some unvaccinated individuals’ refusal to wear masks inside, despite a statewide mandate, has created a “perfect storm,” he said. “I haven’t been this worried about hospital capacity and hospital overwhelm … since, frankly, the very beginning of the pandemic.”

Public health messaging this week did not go over well with Lewis County’s only unvaccianted county commissioner, Sean Swope, who took to Facebook in an apparent jab at Krager, saying the idea that the vaccine is the only way out of the pandemic is “a bold face lie.”

The first-term commissioner instead said he would be reaching out to an Indiana family doctor whose testimony at a school board meeting — during which he gave a presentation that was flagged online as misinformation by YouTube, said the CDC doesn’t “bother to read science” and denied the effectiveness of masks and vaccines — went viral.

The doctor pointed to his experience of treating “over 15 COVID-19 patients.”

His claims are inconsistent with top health officials.

Recent data collected from six Southwest Washington counties showed that, for seniors, full vaccination reduces the risk of hospitalization for COVID-19 by 90%.