SKAGIT COUNTY, Wash. — New coronavirus cases seem to have leveled off in Skagit and Snohomish counties over the last two weeks.
“We have two consecutive weeks of decline. That’s good news,” said Snohomish County Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters. “It’s encouraging. It makes me cautiously optimistic about where things are going.”
Skagit County has also seen fewer case numbers with only two cases reported on Monday and Tuesday.
Health officials in Skagit County think it’s due to the fact there hasn’t been a major holiday in over a month.
“We’re six weeks, or three full incubation periods, of the disease out from the Fourth of July. That’s the longest gap we’ve had in a holiday all summer,” said Laura Han, Skagit County Communication Coordinator.
Large gatherings of people celebrating Father's Day and the Fourth of July contributed to a large spike in cases in July for Skagit County.
With Labor Day right around the corner, Skagit County officials are worried they'll see more people testing positive for COVID-19.
“Around 10 days after every major holiday, like Memorial Day, Father’s Day, etc., we see a pretty significant bump in cases,” Han said. “With Labor Day coming up, we are nervous that this 'decline' is not going to hold true.”
For case numbers to stop growing as rapidly, health officials say people need to mind social distancing and face-covering mandates, even on holidays.
“Wear a face mask, wash your hands frequently, regularly sanitize shared, touched surfaces. There’s nothing new about what we need to do to keep case numbers declining, it’s all of those things, and it’s all of those things all the time,” Han said.
