COVID hospitalizations reach new peak in county

Snohomish County continues to see unprecedented COVID numbers as the hospital occupancy in the county nears 100 percent.

“As of this morning there is only one intensive care unit bed and 26 regular beds available in Snohomish County hospitals, so occupancy is virtually 100 percent,” said Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters during a Jan. 18 press briefing.

The reported cases went down to 11,927 during the week of Jan. 2, which is a decrease from the previous week of 13,383 cases.

The current surge eclipses previous waves, as before December 2021 there had never been a week in the county with much more than 2,000 reported cases.

Projections from the University of Washington predict that Jan. 2 will be the peak of the current surge, according to Spitters.

“Hospitalizations, however continue to rise, with 222 beds, which is about 30 percent of all beds available, filled with COVID patients,” he said. “This is double the prior peak which was around 110 to 120."

The peak in hospitalizations typically comes two weeks after the peak in case rate.

“The situation with the healthcare system is likely going to get worse before it gets better,” said Spitters.

Hospitals are running out of space and any increase will likely mean less time and care for all patients, even those not dealing with COVID.

“Do we reach a point where we have no beds left? With two weeks to go I hope that is not the case, but it is conceivable. At that point it is something to be managed between the healthcare system and the state,” said Spitters.

“You have to move in to crisis staffing where normal patient-to-staff ratios are stretched greater to do the most good for the greatest number of people,” he added.

Assistance is being sent to some hospitals around the state.

“Last week Gov. [Jay] Inslee announced deployment of non-clinical National Guard personnel to several hospitals around the state, including Providence Regional Medical Center here in Everett,” said Spitters.

Those who are dealing with emergency medical situations should still go to a hospital, but those who can delay a hospital visit should consider doing so.

“We encourage people to use the emergency room only for true medical emergencies. Please don’t go there if you just have a mild respiratory illness and want to get a COVID test,” said Spitters.

People in legitimate need of help should still seek out medical treatment though.

“If you do have an emergency such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, an injury, severe abdominal pain, symptoms of stroke or something like that, do not delay going to the emergency room,” said Spitters.

Additional testing resources are still being set up by the county and the Snohomish Health District.

County executive Dave Somers said it is sometimes difficult to navigate.

“You can’t have resources sitting around and doing nothing and we do stand some of that down without knowing what’s coming next,” he said.

COVID tests will likely miss the height of this recent surge, but are still necessary, said Somers.

“That testing capacity is important for getting us back on our feet,” he said. “There is an inevitable lag because we can’t predict [the next surge].”

An additional mass vaccine site that is capable of providing vaccinations to anyone over the age of 5 has also been set up near the Everett Mall. More information about that site is available at snohd.org/everettmallvax.

“In Snohomish County, almost 75 percent have initiated vaccination and it’s about 67 or 68 who have completed it,” said Spitters.