Bucking Recent Trends, Pierce County Sees Decline In COVID-19 Cases

PUYALLUP, WA — The latest wave of COVID-19 infections may have crested, according to new data from the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

As of June 6, the county's 7-day COVID case rate is 258.6 new cases per every 100,000 residents. That's less than 10 percent lower than the week before, but it is the first time the case rate has declined since March. TPCHD's update mirrors statewide COVID-19 trends, which also recently began a slight decline.

"That's great news!" the health department tweeted. "But we still have work to do. Our case rate is still much higher than it was 3 months ago."

The decline is also a good omen for state hospitals, which have been struggling under the demands of the recent wave. At a Washington State Hospital Association briefing Tuesday, health care leaders warned that local hospitals remained very crowded, after seeing a 10 percent increase in hospitalizations over the past week.

“Our health care system continues to be remarkably strained,” said Harborview Medical Center's Dr. Steven Mitchell.

Hospitalization trends usually lag behind case counts, so the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department says it expects it will continue to climb for the foreseeable future. As of Tuesday, the county's hospitalization rate was 7.3 people hospitalized with COVID per 100,000 residents.

While health care leaders wait for hospitalizations to decline, experts remind everyone to follow COVID-19 best practices like:

• Getting vaccinated and boosted, if eligible.
• Staying home if you feel sick.
• Washing your hands regularly.
• Getting tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms or were recently exposed.
• Wearing a mask in crowded spaces.