Pierce County's COVID-19 Metrics Fall To Phase 1 Levels

TACOMA, WA — The Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department reported a 14-day coronavirus case rate of 379.1 per 100,000 residents, and a hospitalization rate of 10.8 per 100,000 on Thursday.

Those rates are both high enough that, had the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) performed its three-week review that day, Pierce County would have been rolled back into Phase 1 — imposing much more severe COVID-19 restrictions including a full ban on indoor dining and harsher limits on sporting events and entertainment.

To be clear: the county is not in danger of rolling back into Phase 1, at least not right now. On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee ordered a two-week pause on all phase changes, and even if he hadn't, Pierce County would have passed the DOH's actual review Monday regardless, although just barely.

Still, the news is a worrying omen, especially if hospitalization rates continue the explosive growth they've shown over the past few days.

In order for a large county like Pierce to fall all the way back into Phase 1, it needs to have both:

• More than 350 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days.
• More than 10 hospitalizations per 100,000 population over the past week.

Pierce County's case rate has been above 350 since April 28, but the county had previously had a hospitalization rate low enough to ensure that it could remain in Phase 2. That is, until this week when the rate ballooned from 5.2 on Monday to 10 on Wednesday, and then 10.8 by Thursday. Because the hospitalization rate is measured over just one week instead of two, it is more prone to fluctuation than the case count rate, but that is still a sharp increase and one health leaders are sure to keep a close eye on.

On the other hand, there are some promising signs regarding case counts, which may have begun to even out. Though they've still been climbing over the past few days, they've not been growing at the dangerously-high rate the county saw for most of last month, and it is possible that in two weeks time the county will have been able to nudge that number below 350, qualifying for Phase 2 once again.

Whether the county can turn the situation around by the time Inslee's pause ends remains to be seen, but the news underscores what Pierce County's top officials have been saying for weeks now: anyone who remains unvaccinated needs to do their part and get a shot to help curb the local transmission rate.

"COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out at a steady pace and many of our most vulnerable residents are protected," wrote Pierce County Director of Health Dr. Anthony Chen. "Every day more people in Pierce County get vaccinated, and that means, every day we get closer to putting the pandemic behind us."

In an attempt to lower the barrier to vaccines and boost the county's flagging vaccination rates, the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department has begun offering walk-up, appointment-free vaccine clinics. A full list of upcoming clinics can be found on their website.

Related: As Vaccine Demand Softens, Hesitancy & Accessibility Enter Focus