Delta 'Exhausting Hospital Capacity' Across Washington: DOH

ACROSS WASHINGTON — The delta variant is driving an explosive growth in new COVID-19 cases across Washington, so much so that state health leaders now worry that the Evergreen State could run out of hospital beds.

According to Department of Health (DOH) data, for the first week of August health care providers across Washington reported more than 2,200 cases each day — the most the state has seen since January, during the tail end of the third wave of infections.

The DOH says that all but seven of Washington's 39 counties — Kittitas, Okanogan, Ferry, Klickitat, Walla Walla, Jefferson, Garfield, Grays Harbor — have seen their cases more than double over the past 30 days. Pend Oreille, Douglas, Lincoln, Pacific, Chelan, Island have seen their cases exploded to more than six times the number they had just one month ago.

DOH analysts attribute the case spike to the rapidly-spreading delta variant of COVID-19, which now makes up the bulk of Washington's new cases, and has doctors advising everyone to resume COVID-19 precautions like masking and avoiding large crowds.

“We are extremely concerned by this increased spike in cases, driven by the delta variant, spreading like wildfire amongst men, women, and children,” said Washington Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah. “Vaccination the best tool we have in this pandemic, but we also recommend that individuals mask indoors, and avoid large, crowded settings vaccinated or not. We need to use all the tools we have to reduce the ongoing spread of this virus in our community and to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe."

As case counts surge across the state, the DOH says health care providers and facilities are being placed under an immense strain. Some regional hospitals are already at max capacity. Others are having trouble with limited staffing, only compounded by the fact that Washington has seen an increasing number of health care workers testing positive for COVID-19 over recent weeks. —

Related: WA Announces Vaccine Order For State Employees, Health Workers

The CDC and DOH both say that the three currently-available COVID-19 vaccines still appear to have a mitigating impact on the severity of delta strain symptoms, and are urging anyone else who is not fully vaccinated to get their shots ASAP.

“Vaccination progress is continuing, but not fast enough,” Shah said. “If you are unvaccinated and continue to have questions, we encourage you to speak to a trusted healthcare provider.”

The DOH says that, as of lake July, 95 percent of patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 had not been fully vaccinated.