PORT ANGELES – The Clallam County Health Department plans to conduct 150 tests per day over the next three days to measure the extent of a possible COVID-19 outbreak emanating from the Olympic Medical Center and a separate site.
The county health department called both investigations outbreaks in a press release Monday. Dr. Allison Unthank, Clallam County Health Officer, said it is a technical term when there are two or more positive cases at a specific site in a short period of time.
Three positive cases from two sites were identified over the weekend, although health officials declined to name the second location.
“We anticipate more cases,” said Unthank. “We want people to take this seriously.”
Meanwhile, Jefferson County has filed a request to enter Phase 3 of the state’s Safe Start reopening plan, but county officials wait for the state to take several days before reaching a decision.
Currently, Phase 3 is as far as a county can go in the state’s four-part safe start plan, as Governor Jay Inslee announced Saturday that applications for Phase 4 have been suspended due to the current increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.
While other counties like Yakima have seen a significant increase, Jefferson County has reported eight confirmed cases in June, including four asymptomatic patients who were evaluated prior to a medical or dental procedure, said Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for the Jefferson County.
The other four had mild cases, Locke said.
No additional positives were reported in any of the counties on Monday, keeping both counties at 38 and a total of 76 in the Northern Olympic Peninsula.
The Clallam County Board of Health would consider applying for Phase 3 today. However, in light of the two outbreaks being investigated, Unthank said it will recommend that the county not request Phase 3 until at least July 21.
Clallam County is tracking contacts for people who may have come into contact with any of the recent cases.
Two WTO employees tested positive, and health officials said the contacts include additional WTO employees and other patients.
Officials date back to two weeks ago, when the virus may have been present.
Thank you, you said you couldn’t identify the second site with the possible outbreak or what industry it is in.
The WTO itself announced that it was the site of two positive tests.
Part of Unthank’s recommendation to wait about three weeks to apply for Phase 3 is so that the county can get a better idea of how extensive these outbreaks could be.
Unthank emphasized that it is safe for people to go to the WTO. So far, any spread of the virus has been among employees, he said.
“We believe that patients are safe to obtain medical care,” he said. “The staff there is excellent at using personal protective equipment.”
Darryl Wolfe, Acting Executive Director of the WTO, also emphasized that it is safe for patients to continue to receive care at the center.
He said he understands that some people may be concerned.
“Since the end of February, from the beginning, our key focus has been to keep patients as safe as possible,” Wolfe said. “That is why you have not seen very high patient transmission rates. Our patient transmission rate is basically zero.
“Don’t delay attention,” he said. “Our fear is that people will delay care. People are nervous. We are here to take care of them. ”
Wolfe also said that people can expect updates all week from the WTO.
Unthank added that it is more important than ever that people wear a mask and maintain physical distance.
“It is vitally important that the citizens of Clallam County understand that COVID-19 is here in our community,” said Unthank. “We all need to be cautious by maintaining a safe physical distance and wearing masks to keep our community safe.”
The Health Board meeting, which will also consider reopening the camp in the county, begins at 1:30 pm and can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/clallamcomtng.
Jefferson County
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners had a special meeting Monday to discuss the request. Although District 2 Commissioner David Sullivan moved to remain in Phase 2, fellow Commissioners Greg Brotherton and Kate Dean instructed the county public health department to proceed with the request.
Jefferson County will enter Phase 3 once approved by the state. However, the state has been taking more than a week to approve applications, such as one from neighboring Kitsap County, which submitted a Phase 3 application on June 19. As of Monday, Kitsap County was still awaiting a decision.
In Phase 3, some recreational facilities such as gyms and swimming pools may reopen. Restaurants can open at 75 percent of capacity, and bars can open at 25 percent of capacity. Movie theaters can reopen at 50 percent of capacity. Libraries and museums can also reopen.
While Phase 3 allows restaurants and bars to increase capacity, Jefferson County commissioners said they still have to meet social distancing and sanitation requirements, so some will not be able to increase capacity due to space.
Commissioners may revisit internal meetings of up to 50 people, an activity allowed in Phase 3. They said Monday they had concerns about the number of people and could discuss limiting what is allowed through the Board of Health or a directive. Locke’s to avoid outbreak situations. .
While Phase 3 allows meetings of up to 50 people indoors, officials advise against it.
“We do not encourage all meetings from now on to be with 49 people,” Locke said. “The risk increases with each person.
“There are situations where five people could be doing very high risk, and there are things that 49 people are doing that could be very low risk. So it’s all about the behavior. ”
Some of the important behaviors that Locke described included wearing a face mask, continuing to practice social distance, and maintaining proper sanitation protocols, to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
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Sports editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted by email at [email protected].
Jefferson County Reporter Zach Jablonksi contributed to this report. He can be contacted at [email protected].
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