One new case of COVID-19 was identified Monday in Grays Harbor County, bringing the total to nine in June and 26 overall after an additional case was reported the previous Friday.
Health workers have completed the case investigation, contacting close contacts to the new cases, according to a joint statement by Grays Harbor Public Health and the emergency operations center. No additional information is provided per the county’s patient privacy considerations.
Case counts
Grays Harbor County has 26 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
March 2020: 2 cases
April 2020: 10 cases
May 2020: 5 cases
June 2020: 9 cases
Phase 4 applications put on hold
Grays Harbor County is in Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan to re-open Washington. Governor Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced June 27, the state Department of Health is putting a pause on counties moving to Phase 4.
“Rising cases across the state and concerns about continued spread of the COVID virus have made Phase 4, which would essentially mean no restrictions, impossible at this time,” according to the joint statement.
“We decided to prohibit any counties from moving into Phase 4 at this time due to increasing COVID-19 activity across the state and significant rebounds in COVID-19 activity in several other states. The changes between Phase 3 and Phase 4, especially with regards to gathering size and occupancy rates, could further increase the spread of COVID-19 in our state, even in communities that have very low rates of disease. The progress we’ve made thus far is at risk, therefore we are making the prudent choice to slow down our phased approach to reopening,” said Wiesman.
The county’s Phase 3 application was accepted June 17. Before the state’s order putting a hold on Phase 4 applications, the county would have qualified to ask for a variance July 8.
According to the most recent Department of Health data, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties were meeting the standards to move into Phase 4, in terms of positive test results, number of tests given each week and the percentage of licensed beds occupied by patients and specifically to COVID-19 cases.
Change in public case reporting
According to the statement, “As Grays Harbor’s COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, Grays Harbor Public Health COVID-19 Task Force and Grays Harbor County Emergency Operations Center is streamlining our approach to public information. There will no longer be press releases issued for each individual case. Rather, cases will be posted on Public Health’s website at http://www.healthyGH.org and Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/healthyghc. Press releases will still be issued for significant events such as an outbreak of COVID-19 or new public health and safety measures.”
State data
According to state Department of Health data updated Sunday, 2,790 total COVID-19 tests have been administered in Grays Harbor County, with 0.9% returning positive. There have been eight hospitalizations and no confirmed deaths attributed to the virus.
In Pacific County, 873 tests have been administered, with 1.5% coming back positive for a total of 13 cases. There are two hospitalizations reported and one death related to the virus.
