TACOMA, Wash. — Pierce County is reporting its lowest COVID-19 case rate in nearly three months.
Between May 11-24, the case rate per 100,000 people was 196.4. The 14-day rate is the most reliable look at the disease burden.
The county's hospitalization rate is currently 7.8 per 100,000 people.
On June 2, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department confirmed 122 COVID-19 cases and one new death - a woman in her 70s from Puyallup. The case count, however, reflected a backlog of older cases recently entered into the system.
Backlogged cases could date back a week, a year, or to the beginning of the pandemic. They are entered into the system when the health department learns of them and cannot always be separated from new cases until more information is obtained.
Pierce County has struggled with keeping its case count down. In April, it was one of three counties in the state to roll back to Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan; failing to have fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days and fewer than five new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people over seven days.
Pierce County's case rate improved dramatically, with a 14-day case rate period of 356.3 per 100,000 people around the beginning of May.
All counties are now in Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan. The goal is to fully reopen by the end of June.
