Kitsap County's COVID cases up 42.4%; Washington cases surge 34.6%

Mike Stucka
·4 min read

New coronavirus cases leaped in Washington state in the week ending Sunday, rising 34.6% as 110,385 cases were reported. The previous week had 81,996 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Washington ranked 33rd among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 5.8% from the week before, with 5,438,242 cases reported. With 2.29% of the country's population, Washington had 2.03% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 39 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Many counties did not report during data during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, disrupting the latest week's statistics. That data is being compared to a week with backlogged cases and deaths from the New Year's holiday weekend. Week-to-week comparisons are skewed and these numbers will be unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.

Kitsap County reported 3,408 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 2,394 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 25,853 cases and 265 deaths.

Mason County reported 941 cases and three deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 511 cases and eight deaths. Throughout the pandemic, it has reported 8,420 cases and 104 deaths.

Within Washington state, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in King County with 1,742 cases per 100,000 per week; Franklin County with 1,655; and Snohomish County with 1,628. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were King County, with 39,237 cases; Pierce County, with 13,448 cases; and Snohomish County, with 13,381. Weekly case counts rose in 36 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in King, Snohomish and Spokane counties.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Washington ranked 17th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 76.6% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 74.6%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Wednesday, Washington state reported administering another 222,273 vaccine doses, including 42,817 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 159,334 vaccine doses, including 32,097 first doses. In all, Washington state reported it has administered 12,929,578 total doses.

Across Washington state, cases fell in three counties, with the best declines in Pierce County, with 13,448 cases from 14,037 a week earlier; in Columbia County, with 17 cases from 19; and in Garfield County, with 10 cases from 11.

In Washington state, 192 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 151 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,041,456 people in Washington have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 10,196 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States, 65,699,947 people have tested positive and 850,605 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

Washington's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 16.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 3,161

  • The week before that: 2,667

  • Four weeks ago: 1,805

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 203,221

  • The week before that: 185,954

  • Four weeks ago: 90,739

Hospitals in 41 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 43 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.
A COVID-19 patient on a ventilator is checked by Megan Lee, a resident nurse at Stormont Vail Health, inside the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, on Jan. 7.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap County COVID cases increased by 3,408 this week