The number of patients hospitalized with covid-19 is on the rise statewide.

SOUTH BEND — Pacific County saw another cavalcade of coronavirus cases over the past week, surpassing 400 cases overall as the pandemic continues to surge locally.

The Pacific County Health and Human Services Department reported 55 new cases of covid-19 on Nov. 24 and another 51 cases on Nov. 30. Of the 446 confirmed or probable cases attributed to the county over the life of the pandemic, 91 are currently active and being monitored by public health nurses.

November was a brutal month for the county, with 325 new cases reported in the month — 73% of its pandemic total. The county also doubled its covid-related hospitalizations over the course of the month, from 8 to at least 15.

The virus is also surging in nearby counties. Clatsop County reported 21 new coronavirus cases on Nov. 30, bring its total since March to 383.

Also on Nov. 30. Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services received positive test result notifications for 11 new covid-19 cases, bringing the county’s total to 33. An additional case on Dec. 1 brought the total to 34. “There is some, but limited, connection to the Wahkiakum School District. Because of the stringent measures in place within the school district including tight cohorts, Wahkiakum School District will remain open,” Wahkiakum health officials said.

Statewide covid cases totaled 165,019 on Nov. 30, with 10,895 patients hospitalized and 2,774 fatalities.

North county bearing brunt

Along with typical figures about cases and testing, the county health department also reported long-awaited data last Wednesday on which communities have been affected the most by the pandemic. The data includes exact numbers on how many cases have been attributed to any given community in Pacific County.

The data confirmed what local officials have been saying in recent weeks, which is that north county communities have been hit much harder than south county. Of the 415 cases that had been reported at the time, on Nov. 25, 184 and 105 are individuals whose primary residence is attributed to Raymond and South Bend’s zip codes, respectively — 69% of the county’s total case count.

While the peninsula makes up roughly half of the county’s population, it makes up at most about 25% of the total reported cases in the county; 35 cases have been attributed to Long Beach, 19 cases have been attributed to both Ilwaco and Ocean Park, 18 cases have been attributed to Seaview, and no more than five cases have been attributed to Oysterville and Nahcotta.

Ten of the reported cases have been attributed to Naselle, while five or fewer cases have been reported in Bay Center, Chinook, Lebam, Menlo and Tokeland.

While the data identifies how many individuals in a given zip code have contracted the virus, the county health department stressed that it is not a representation of where covid-19 exposure or transmission occurred. Officials reiterated that covid-19 is active and spreading in all parts of the county.

County seeks volunteers

Pacific County Emergency Management Agency Director Scott McDougall put the call out for volunteers at last Wednesday’s PCEMA Council meeting, saying the county is looking for people to help assist local emergency and virus efforts in a variety of ways.

PCEMA, McDougall said, is now taking requests for people wanting to volunteer. All volunteers will be screened and are subject to a background check from the Washington State Patrol. Volunteers will have to undergo “significant training … to be able to get people to the point where they can deal with the things we’re going to be asking them to deal with,” he said.

The health department particularly is looking for people that can be on-call to help with things like traffic control during drive-thru testing and other events, as well as processing tests and data entry. Volunteers that can devote even just a couple of hours a week to pick up food supplies and put together food boxes is also something the county is looking for.

“It’s unpredictable when we need it, but when we need it we tend to have to call in the troops pretty quick,” said county health director Katie Lindstrom. “Having sort of that list of people who are willing to just come in and be a body at those events and work where assigned is huge.”

Lindstrom said the health department also has a tremendous need for volunteers who speak Spanish. Additionally, volunteers with a medical background, such as retired nurses, can help with contact calls. Public health nurses try to call individuals of active cases at least every other day, Lindstrom said, and the spike in cases means that they’re having to get in touch with dozens of people each day.