WSDOH: All 8 Regions to Stay in Phase One Through 1-25
According to the WSDOH (Washington State Department of Health) all 8 state regions will remain in Phase One through January 25th. The information was released Friday 1-15.
According to the 'new' metrics, our South Central Region (Klickitat, Yakima, Benton, Franklin and Columbia Counties) showed a drop of 12 percent in new cases per 100K people; and a 22 percent drop in hospitalizations due to COVID.
However, the "average 7 day occupancy rate of ICU beds" is at 91 percent (just over their limit) and the "7 day percent positive of COVID tests" is up 19 percent. The ICU rate is one percent over the limit, and the pecent of positive COVID tests is supposed to be 10% or less, so we're 9 percent too high according to WSDOH.
Regions that don't meet at least two of the criteria will be moved back, even if down the road they qualify for Phase 2.
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