Snohomish County hits ‘medium’ COVID-19 level
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - Snohomish County health officials announced that the county has reached "medium" levels of COVID-19.
During a briefing on Tuesday, Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters said cases in the county have been climbing in recent weeks.
"Although we may be in a new phase of the pandemic, we are not rid of COVID," Spitters said.
As of Tuesday, the Snohomish Health District dashboard said that 32 people with the virus are hospitalized.
"If we continue to see hospitalizations increase, we’ll find ourselves in a high-risk level with yet another healthcare surge burdening a short-staffed and exhausted healthcare system," Spitters said.
The CDC’s tool, COVID-19 Community Levels, to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area.
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King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin gave an update Monday afternoon regarding the increasing levels of COVID-19 in the county.
The medium level means that there are over 200 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.
Spitters recommended an increase in COVID prevention measures for all, which include being up-to-date with COVID vaccinations, boosters, voluntarily mask up indoors, isolate and get tested if you have any symptoms.
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"Masks may not be required in all venues but you can wear them by choice. They’re an effective tool for disrupting transmission and masks are most effective when their use is widespread," Spitters said.
Last week, King County health officials announced that the county reached the CDC’s medium COVID levels.