Virus infections down, but caution advised for holidays

The numbers of daily COVID-19 infections and deaths have continued to decline, both in the region and in Idaho and Washington states.

But local health officials say it’s too early to let down our guard. And considering the coming holiday season, the region may even experience a resurgence of the coronavirus.

“I don’t really see the drop in numbers showing the pandemic is almost over,” said Brady Woodbury, director of public health in Asotin County.

“We have seen several surges and drops in numbers and I don’t really want to speculate that it’s wrapping up this time. On the contrary, I wouldn’t be surprised if the numbers start to go back up with the holiday gatherings and the onset of colder weather. We still have low overall vaccination rates in our county and still are seeing steady numbers of cases, hospitalizations and severe illness in our community.”

Nearly one year ago, on Nov. 23, Public Health – Idaho North Central District reported 349 COVID-19 infections and four deaths in the five county region.

Friday, that number was down to 22 total infections and no deaths.

Tara Macke, spokeswoman for the department, acknowledged the drop in cases but added: “There are some areas that still have a significant number of cases for their population and those are the same areas where vaccine (up)take rates are still low. That may indicate that COVID-19 may continue to be a significant illness in those areas as long as there are susceptible people to catch the virus and then pass it on to other susceptible people.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 data tracker, all counties in north central Idaho, along with Asotin County, are in the high community transmission zone, meaning everyone in those counties should wear a mask in public indoor settings.

Whitman and Garfield counties are in the substantial community transmission zone, according to the CDC, which carries the same masking recommendation.

Macke said the national decrease of cases is not expected to indicate the end of the pandemic, “but will more likely demonstrate the tapering off of the current spike in cases and will likely start to show the rise in cases associated with the next spike in cases. For the pandemic to end, there would need to be enough immune people worldwide to thwart the spread of this virus for at least a couple of cycles. … Honestly, that is not likely to happen at this point and it is more likely that we will learn to control this virus with regular booster doses, similar to the way we respond to influenza. … We need to continue to do what we can to decrease person-to-person spread.”

Chris Skidmore, director of Whitman County Public Health, said officials expect to see an uptick in cases with holiday gatherings and the cold weather forcing people inside.

“I would encourage everyone looking to gather for the holiday season to make sure they get vaccinated and to get the booster if they are currently eligible,” Skidmore said. “In terms of vaccine uptake, we are still seeing a slow increase in vaccinations. With the 5- to 11-year-olds becoming eligible recently we did see an increase in vaccinations for that age group.”

Anyone wishing more information from the CDC about how to gather safely for the holidays may check online at bit.ly/3FB83LJ.

On Friday, Nez Perce County reported nine new infections; Idaho County had seven and Latah County reported six. Lewis and Clearwater counties had no new cases to report.

Whitman County had nine new cases; Asotin County six new cases for a 14-day count of 75 with three hospitalizations, and Garfield County had no updates.

Hedberg may be contacted at kathyhedberg@gmail.com or (208) 983-2326.