COVID-19 Rates for Chelan-Douglas County Region

Chelan-Douglas Health District provided an update on COVID-19 case rates for the Chelan-Douglas County region.

CDHD Health Administrator Luke Davies said COVID-19 positive case rates have started to plateau, but that could be because of underreporting due to more people using at-home tests.

“We're getting anecdotal evidence that people are testing positive, but they're not necessarily reporting to us, so our numbers aren't really reflecting the actual level of COVID in the community,” Davies said.

Hospitalizations within the region have decreased compared to previous case rate surges in recent years, along with vaccination rates and the number of residents receiving their booster shot.

“We worked really hard to make sure that we have vaccines available for our vulnerable populations, but a lot of our healthcare partners still have vaccines available, either through their clinics or through the local pharmacies,” Davies said.

In the past two weeks, the Chelan-Douglas County region case rate was at 102.1 positive cases per 100,000 residents. Chelan County has seen 110.5 positive cases per 100,000 residents, and Douglas County has seen 86.9 positive cases per 100,000 residents.

Davies said the pandemic is moving in a positive direction and that COVID-19 may soon be normalized, similar to how the Spanish Influenza pandemic normalized the flu.

The “Kraken” variant seen on the east coast of the United States has not reached Washington State.

“Now, will there be a variant in the next six or 12 months that could potentially be dangerous? Again, that is always a possibility,” Davies explained. “But over time, as we continue to have vaccinations, as we continue to have natural immunity from people getting COVID, that risk diminishes.”