For the first time in nearly a month, Lewis County saw a decent dip in reported cases of COVID-19 in the most recent reporting week.
The weekly COVID-19 update from Lewis County Public Health & Social Services (LCPHSS) for July 1-7 counted a decrease to 121 new cases in the county, down from 190 the week prior. The week before, the count saw 179 new cases of COVID-19. The week before that, 156.
There were 16 new hospitalizations in the most recent reporting week, also a decrease from the previous reporting week.
There were also seven active outbreaks occurring in congregate care settings, the same as the previous week.
The county’s rate of new COVID-19 cases in 14 days per 100,000 residents now stands at 387.5, which was lower than the statewide rate of 469.7.
Neither the county nor state is able to include at-home tests in those case totals, so actual numbers may be higher.
The county’s seven day hospitalization rate of 19.9 remains significantly higher than the state rate of 9.7.
These numbers are likely due to under-testing, as was previously suggested by former LCPHSS director JP Anderson.
The more folks who are tested, the more non-hospitalized cases get factored into the rate. Similarly, the more tests administered, the more cases get reported in total.
The Lewis County Mall testing site tested 244 people in the most recent reporting week.
As of this week, 57.3% of all county residents had initiated the primary vaccination series and 52% of all residents had completed the primary vaccination series.
Vaccines against COVID are now available for all people over the age of 6 months. Vaccine appointments and locations can be found at https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/.
