Department of Health stresses cautions for state reopening

OLYMPIA – Officials from the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) and the Vaccine Command and Coordination System (VACCS) Center held a virtual COVID-19 media briefing last Wednesday, June 30, acknowledging the official Washington Ready reopening of the state.
Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah noted that reopening does not mean the pandemic is over and that health officials will continue efforts to get more state residents vaccinated against the virus.
“It’s still a tale of two societies,” said Shah. “Those who are unvaccinated remain unprotected and those who are 45 to 64 have sixteen times higher likelihood of being hospitalized. If they are 65 and above are at twelve times higher risk of being hospitalized from COVID-19.”
Recapping the major DOH milestones over the past 15 months since the first confirmed U.S. case of COVID-19 was detected at a Snohomish County nursing home in Washington state in January 2020, Shah touched on subsequent events:
March 2020 – Partnership with state hotline 211. Since joining the Washington Information Network 211 DOH has fielded nearly 350,000 calls and scheduled more than 32,000 vaccination appointments to date.
June 2020 – Care Connect Washington started in Yakima with food kits and quarantine isolation support for some 32,000 people representing 8,700 households. Care Connect was statewide by June 2021.
November 2020 – WA Notify also known as Washington Exposure Notifications, a smartphone app to alert citizens of exposure to COVID-19. Recognized nationwide for its 2.1 million users, prevention of 6,200 new COVID cases, and estimated 125 lives saved in its first four months of operation.
December 2020 – Vaccines arrive in WA.
January 2021 – Launch of Vaccine Command and Coordination System (VACCS). State mass vaccination sites opened and distributed more than 380,000 vaccine doses.
June 2021 – WA reopens.
A few facts:
● WA reported 450,000 COVID-19 cases and 5,900 deaths.
● WA ranks as the fifth lowest state in terms of cases.
● Seventh lowest in the number of deaths per 100,000.
● Ninth highest in percent of population fully vaccinated.
● As of June 27, almost 7.8 million vaccine doses have been given to more than 4.2 million state residents.
● As of June 29, 3.8 million people or more than half of the state 7.7 million residents have been fully vaccinated.
● As of June 29, 69 percent of residents 16 years old and up have received at least one dose of vaccine.
While the state has officially reopened for business, some precautions remain:
► Only those unvaccinated are required to wear a mask in public indoor settings.
► No masks required in public outdoor settings though those unvaccinated are encouraged to wear a mask in crowded settings.
► No mask is required for outdoor sports practice or competition, swimming, water sports and recreation.
► Masks are required for those at indoor sports and competition.
► Masks are required for everyone in schools, childcare facilities, healthcare facilities, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and public transportation.
For more details about county guidelines, check the websites at facebook.com/OKCPH and facebook.com/douglascountywa.