This newsletter is produced weekly. For more COVID-19 updates, go to kcowa.us/covid19. You can manage your subscriptions using the links at the very bottom of this bulletin. For weekday data updates, see our COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard at kcowa.us/covid19daily
🩹 UPCOMING VACCINATION CLINICS: We are offering a clinic for ages 18+ on March 7 and a clinic for ages 12+ on March 9. First, second and booster doses are available. No appointments needed! Find details on our clinic calendar.
Transitioning from emergency response to personal responsibility; testing site planned in South Kitsap
Trends we are tracking
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The number of COVID-19 cases reported in Kitsap County is gradually and steadily decreasing, with 314 cases reported in the week ending Feb. 26. For perspective, more than 4,000 cases were reported in the week ending Jan. 15, when the Omicron wave was peaking. COVID-19 is still spreading in all areas of the county.
- The chart below shows the 7-day case rate for Kitsap County over the past three months (Dec. 5 to Feb. 27):
We are changing the way we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is what you need to know:
Next Tuesday, March 8, will mark the two-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case being reported in Kitsap County. Twenty-four months and nearly 40,000 cases later, our county is still weathering the life-altering effects of the pandemic while looking ahead to a hopeful new phase of recovery.
As cases decline and pressure on our healthcare system eases, public health agencies — including Kitsap Public Health District — are taking careful steps to wind down emergency response activities and gradually pivot to addressing COVID-19 as an ongoing health risk.
For Kitsap Public Health and the Kitsap Emergency Operations Center, this shift includes:
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Scaling back drive-through testing operations, while piloting a new model for providing long-term access to testing (more on this effort lower in the newsletter). Testing remains available at many sites in our county and at-home tests are available from the government and retailers.
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Scaling back KPHD-run COVID-19 vaccination clinics, while continuing to provide vaccination opportunities for ages 5 and older at St. Michael Bremerton and pop-up locations. Our vaccine team continues to support healthcare providers offering COVID-19 vaccination in the community.
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Prioritizing case investigations and contact tracing to focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in high-risk settings, including long-term care centers, congregate living facilities, daycares, and schools.
We are closely monitoring COVID-19 trends and maintain the ability to scale up emergency response activities if disease activity escalates in the future.
WHAT DOES THIS SHIFT MEAN FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS?
As emergency response activities wind down, each of us as community members will need to make choices to protect our health and the health of people around us. This has been true since the start of the pandemic, but it will be increasingly important as government interventions are rolled back.
Healthy choices include:
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Staying up to date on vaccinations. Vaccination and booster shots offer the best protection against COVID-19. Vaccination remains widely available at pharmacies, clinics, and doctors’ offices. Learn more on our vaccine page or call us at 360-728-2219.
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Staying home and getting tested when sick or exposed to COVID-19. Testing remains available at pharmacies, clinics, and testing sites. At-home tests can be ordered at no cost from the government or purchased from retailers (if you have insurance, your health plan will cover the cost). Kitsap Public Health has delivered 28,000 tests to local social services organizations and ordered an additional 40,000 tests to distribute.
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Following public health guidance if you test positive or are exposed to COVID-19. Review CDC guidance for isolation or quarantine and notify people you have been in close contact with if you think you have COVID-19. If you have questions about guidance or need to report a positive at-home test result, call 800-525-0127. If you need resources to help you safely isolate or quarantine, call Kitsap Public Health at 360-728-2219.
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Staying prepared. Keep a supply of at-home test kits and high-quality masks on hand for your household. Masks are available at no cost at some chain pharmacies and retailers. Kitsap Public Health has delivered more than 60,000 high-quality masks to social services organizations to distribute in the community.
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Avoiding high-risk situations. Wearing a mask or distancing as needed. Crowded, poorly ventilated indoor settings increase your risk of getting COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Masks will be required in indoor public spaces in Washington through March 11. However, anyone can choose to wear a mask or give themselves extra space from others for added protection. It is especially important to avoid risky situations and take added steps to protect your health if you are at higher risk for severe illness.
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Following “house rules” and being kind to others. As COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed, individual businesses and organizations can still set rules to promote COVID-19 prevention. Community members will make individual choices to protect their health. Follow rules for the space you are in and be considerate of people around you.
If you have questions, please reach out to us at 360-728-2219 or email pio@kitsappublichealth.org.
State indoor masking rule change moved to March 12
- Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that some statewide indoor masking requirements will end on March 12, instead of March 21. Until then, masks are still required inside all indoor public spaces, including businesses and schools.
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Individual businesses and organizations can still choose to require masks after March 12. We encourage Kitsap residents to consider continuing to wear masks in crowded indoor settings as an added layer of protection.
- The CDC announced it would no longer require masks on school buses, although masks will still be required on other forms of public transit. The state will issue new guidance for schools next week addressing changes to masking requirements. Families should watch for updates from their school district.
South Kitsap site could provide model for ongoing COVID-19 testing operations
A Curative testing kiosk in Pierce County. Image courtesy Curative.
Kitsap Public Health District is partnering with the state Department of Health and Curative to open a COVID-19 testing site in South Kitsap this month.
The walk-up testing kiosk will offer molecular (PCR) testing, with results available in 24 to 48 hours. We expect the site to open on March 16.
This small-footprint operation will help meet a need for testing in South Kitsap, while providing a potential model for offering ongoing access to COVID-19 testing in the community. Kiosks could be added in other areas of the county if demand for testing increases in the future.
We will share more information about the South Kitsap site as the opening date approaches.
Understanding the new CDC guidance and metrics
Last week, the CDC released updated guidance and new metrics for assessing COVID-19 risk at the community level. The new metrics focus on hospitalizations and hospital capacity, in addition to case rates. Based on these metrics, COVID-19 activity is categorized as either "low," "medium," or "high."
Unfortunately, when the new metrics were published, data displayed by the CDC looked very different from data reported by our state Department of Health and Kitsap Public Health. CDC data appeared to substantially underrepresent COVID activity and hospitalizations for our area.
The state Department of Health investigated the source of these discrepancies and worked with the CDC to update their dashboard with accurate information this week. The CDC dashboard shows our region experiencing low COVID-19 activity.
Important points to keep in mind as you review the CDC's guidance and metrics:
- Under the new guidance, the CDC no longer emphasizes indoor masking for residents in communities where COVID-19 levels are "low" or "medium." However, Washington state will continue to require masks in indoor public spaces until March 12.
- The CDC's healthcare system metrics are based on Health Service Areas, rather than individual counties. Kitsap shares a Health Service Area with Island, King, San Juan, Skagit, and Snohomish counties. Because our Health Service Area is so big, and includes our state's largest metro area, hospitalizations and bed capacity reported at our local hospital will have very little bearing on the COVID-19 level assigned to our area by the CDC.
Already ordered from the state's at-home test portal? You can order again!
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Washington households can now order twice per month from the state's at-home test portal. Go to www.sayyescovidhometest.org or call 800-525-0127.
- The federal test portal is still open at www.covidtests.gov or by calling 1-800-232-0233. Tests are also widely available for purchase and insurance reimbursementat pharmacies and retailers.
- Visit our "Get Tested" page for more local testing options.
If you or someone you know have barriers to accessing COVID-19 testing or obtaining test kits or masks, please call Kitsap Public Health at 360-728-2219 (360-728-2218 for Spanish) and leave a message. Or you can email pio@kitsappublichealth.org.
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NON-COVID HEALTH UPDATES
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Numbers to know
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As of March 3, 77% of all Kitsap residents (ages 0+) have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 69% are fully vaccinated. More than 209,600 Kitsap residents have received at least one dose of vaccine. Of the Kitsap residents eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine (ages 5+), 81.9% have received at least one dose and 73.4% are fully vaccinated.
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314 COVID-19 cases were reported in our county in the most recent week with full data available (week ending Feb. 26): 17 cases on Bainbridge Island, 81 in Bremerton, 73 in Central Kitsap, 60 in North Kitsap, and 83 in South Kitsap.
- Kitsap County's rate of cases per 100,000 population over 7 days was 112 as of March 4 (includes cases reported through Feb. 27). The rate of cases reported in Kitsap has declined since mid-January, but has leveled out in recent days.
- For the week ending Feb. 26, there were 46 new Kitsap resident COVID-19 hospitalizations; there were 57 the week prior. The number of hospitalizations among Kitsap residents remains elevated, but is beginning to decrease.
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322 Kitsap resident COVID-19-associated deaths have been reported to date.
- Find more local COVID-19 data at kcowa.us/covid19data
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PRINTABLE WEEKLY OUTLOOK
Download our weekly outlook report as a PDF that you can print and share in your community. Thank you for spreading reliable information about COVID-19!
Looking for an image file to share? Click here.
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COVID-19 PREVENTION MATERIALS YOU CAN SHARE
Visit our Community Toolkit page to download fact sheets, graphics, and more from Kitsap Public Health District and other trusted sources.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT: pio@kitsappublichealth.org
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