County remains at Phase 3 levels

By Terry Murry on Friday, April 9th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

WALLA WALLA – The Walla Walla County Department of Community Health reported six new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the most recent listed on the county’s dashboard. There is one active case at the Washington State Penitentiary. Meanwhile, the county’s positivity rate is at three percent.

Currently, the figures indicate the county should remain in its current Phase 3 reopening level when that status is determined next week.

While cases appear to be leveling off or declining in the county, the same is not true for the state. Statewide, case counts began increasing in late March with the biggest increases coming in Clark, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. The biggest increases are in younger people aged 10 to 49. Shallower increases are reported in those who are infants to age 9 and in adults aged 50-69.

“As we work to get more and more people vaccinated, our collective behavior still matters a lot,” Acting State Health Officer Dr. Scott Lindquist said. “This is particularly concerning when we’re already working from a higher baseline than we saw before previous waves. These restrictions won’t last forever, but they are still needed as we work to vaccinate more people.”