Clark County’s COVID-19 case rate is falling, but weekly deaths are rising
At the reflector
The rate of recent COVID-19 cases in Clark County declined in week three as local business leaders launched an outreach program to vaccinate more of the county’s residents.
In Clark County Public Health’s weekly COVID-19 update on October 14, the health department reported a current case rate of 412.5 cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days, up from 450.9 cases per 100,000 last week.
Since October 7, the county has recorded 1,016 additional COVID-19 cases, including 849 confirmed cases and 167 probable cases based on antigen testing, according to the October 14 report. These new cases add up to 35,704 confirmed cases and 3,753 probable cases since the outbreak began in Clark County. As of the October 14 report, there were 1,091 active cases that are in the isolation phase.
Clark County Public Health reported 18 more confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the October 14 update, up from 13 the previous week. The deaths included three men over 80, two men in their 70s, six men in their 60s, one man in their 50s, one man in their 40s, three women in their 70s, one woman in their 60s, and one woman in their 40s Years. The county also reported two deaths believed to be due to COVID-19. Including a man over 80 and a woman over 70.
These new deaths put the total number of deaths in the county at 451, including 412 confirmed and 39 believed to be related to the disease.
Hospital bed occupancy by COVID-19 patients declined in the county for another week after the Ministry of Health updated. Patients with the disease occupied 15.1% of the beds in the district on October 7, compared with 18.1% on October 7. COVID-19 patients also occupied fewer beds in the intensive care unit (ICU) with 31.7% beds in the district. decreased by 39.7%. Recent COVID-19 recordings fell to 13.4 per 100,000 residents in the past seven days, up from 14.4 per 100,000 the week before.
Although there were fewer COVID-19 patients in Clark County hospitals, overall occupancy rose as of the October 14 report. According to the Clark County Public Health report, 91.4% of hospital beds and 93.7% of ICU beds were occupied, compared with 89.7% of all beds and 88.9% of ICU beds reported Oct. 7.
The county’s share of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the state stayed about the same, while the percentage of deaths on Oct. 14 rose slightly to around 5.6% of deaths in the state.
In the wake of the Delta Variation that sparked recent COVID-19 activity, Clark County leaders have organized outreach efforts to vaccinate more county’s residents.
Local groups Identity Clark County, Greater Vancouver Chamber and Southwest Washington Hospitality Roundtable launched Keep Us Open: Set A Date To Vaccination to promote vaccination across the county, the groups said on October 11, in a news release. Although around two-thirds of the county’s residents are fully vaccinated, the increased activity of the Delta variant has raised concerns about the area’s medical system and business disruption, according to the press release.
The campaign includes a website, keepusopen.us, which posts vaccine locations, answers frequently asked questions, and asks for vaccine testimonials, the press release said. The campaign also includes signs, social media posts and posters in multiple languages for participating employers, churches and meeting places.
Ron Arp, president of Identity Clark County, said many regional businesses are still facing significant COVID-19-related challenges for months after most lockdown restrictions were lifted. Organizations face employee absenteeism due to illness, isolation and quarantine, adding to the strain on an already affected workforce, the statement said.
“Vaccines are the best way to protect active people from serious illness and the best way to make sure we keep our community and economy open,” said Arp.