Clark County’s rate of COVID-19 infections rose slightly this week, according to the latest data from Clark County Public Health.
The county continues to remain in the low-risk category for disease transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on its current number of cases, hospitalizations and overall hospital occupancy.
The COVID-19 activity rate, which measures new cases per 100,000 population over seven days, rose from 46.9 last week to 47.9 as of Thursday, according to Public Health data.
Public Health reported 216 new cases this week, pushing the total recorded cases to 107,286 to date. Three new deaths were reported this week, bringing county totals to 961. Deaths are typically reported 10 to 12 days after they occur, according to Public Health.
Clark County hospitals remain near capacity with 96.4 percent of hospital beds and 96.6 percent of intensive care beds occupied.
Patients with or suspected of having COVID-19 occupied 7.5 percent of hospital beds, down from 10.2 percent last week, while 10.2 percent of ICU beds were occupied by patients with or suspected of having COVID-19, up from 7.1 percent last week.
Hospitals in Clark County were treating 42 people with or suspected of having COVID-19 as of this week, down from 57 last week. The rate of new hospital admissions over seven days rose to 6.8 per 100,000, up from 6.6 last week.
Hospitals’ capacity is beginning to fill with patients who have the flu or other respiratory illnesses such as RSV, according to Kathleen Heim, director of care management at PeaceHealth Northwest.
If you test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test, health officials ask that you report it to the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127. The CDC recommends that you stay home for at least five days upon testing positive and wear a mask if going out for five additional days.
The CDC recommends that everyone 5 years and older get an updated bivalent COVID-19 booster.
COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are available all across the county. For more information on where to schedule a vaccine or booster visit www.vaccines.gov.
There will be no weekly update on Thanksgiving. The next weekly update will not be provided until Dec. 1, according to a tweet from Clark County Public Health.
