EDGEWOOD, Wash. — Nearly half of Washington state is now reporting high levels of COVID-19, meaning certain safety recommendations are back in place from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pierce, Thurston and Lewis counties are among 15 of Washington’s 39 counties that are seeing high transmission of new cases.
The CDC says people in Asotin, Chelan, Clallam, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Lincoln, Pacific, Pierce, Spokane, Thurston and Walla Walla counties are advised to take protective measures, such as wearing masks indoors in public and on public transportation.
The good news is that the CDC indicates there are a lot of infections but relatively few deaths compared to prior versions of the virus.
King County is not on the list, but after the Fourth of July holiday, some people may be returning from Chelan County, where the case count is high.
At this time last year, the strain that was circulating was making people a lot sicker and was especially serious for people who were unvaccinated.
The average number of daily deaths from COVID-19 in the United States is around 360. Last year it was around 228 in early July.