As Case Counts Climb, Pierce Health Urges Residents To Get Tested

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Daily case counts are on the rise again, not only in Pierce County but across Washington state.

But as case counts have risen, COVID-19 testing in the Evergreen state has seen a fairly consistent decline over the past few months. That's why the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department is renewing their call for everyone who has experienced coronavirus symptoms to go ahead and get tested.

There are a few ways to get a free COVID-19 test from the county:

• You can call your local Pierce County Library, and pick up a free at-home test.
• Sign up for test kit deliveries by visiting scanpublichealth.org.
• Local Walgreen's pharmacies offer free drive-thru rapid tests.
• Other options can be found on the health department's website at tpchd.org/gettested.

As of the latest available data from the health department, Pierce County had a 14-day case rate of 180.6 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents during the last two weeks of March. That's higher than the peak of the second wave of transmissions last summer, and the continuation of a concerning trend: the county's 14-day case rate bottomed out at around 127 in early March, but has consistently grown over the past three weeks.

By encouraging residents to take more COVID-19 tests, the health department hopes to better understand the scope of this nascent fourth wave of transmission, and prevent further spread of the disease through contact tracing.