PACIFIC COUNTY — Washington state’s indoor mask mandate ended last Friday, and many residents and guests on the Long Beach Peninsula wasted little time shedding the garment as they frequented stores and restaurants over the weekend.

Even as cases remain relatively low compared to the Omicron surge to begin the year, local health officials are urging those at a higher risk of developing severe cases of covid-19 to continue exercising caution while out in public.

A risk-reduction emphasis for county health staff in recent weeks has been urging high-risk individuals to wear higher quality masks — such as N95, KN95 or KF94 — when in indoor public settings, rather than surgical or cloth masks.

“The N95s are particularly important for people looking to protect themselves,” said county health director Katie Lindstrom earlier this month.

To that end, the county is continuing to offer free, high-quality N95 masks, including rapid at-home tests, at each of the Timberland Regional Library locations in Pacific County, as well as both the north and south county health department locations in Long Beach and South Bend.

“We have a lot better data about the efficacy of masks, and a lot more availability of high-quality masks,” said county health officer Dr. Steven Krager. “Part of the reason we had mask requirements was because with lower quality masks, it’s really important that everyone wears them for them to work as a source control and prevent infection.

“With a higher quality mask, you can feel a little more confident that you’re pretty well protected yourself, even if those around you are not wearing a mask,” he continued. “So it becomes a little bit more of an individual-level risk assessment … It’s never gonna hurt to wear a mask, especially if you’re unsure about where you might fit when assessing your risk.”

Cases stay downOver the past week, the county health department reported just a handful of new cases of covid-19, while the case rate dropped to its lowest level in many months.

Pacific County has reported a total of 3,777 cases since the pandemic began, but only six came in the last week. During the height of the Omicron surge, the county was receiving that many positives over the course of a few hours. The county also reported no new hospitalizations or deaths over the past week, staying flat at 157 and 52, respectively.

The case rate per 100,000 people over a two-week period plummeted from 360 to 133 as of March 13. It’s the lowest the case rate has been in Pacific County since last July, just prior to the Delta wave that persisted for several months.

As of March 12, 67% of the county’s total population has received at least one covid-19 vaccine dose, 59.7% have received two doses, and 29.8% have received a booster dose. For a list of vaccine options in the county, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com/get-vaccinated.

Statewide as of March 13, 488 people in Washington were hospitalized with suspected or confirmed cases of covid-19, down 19.2% from a week prior, while 34 patients were on ventilators — down 8.1% from the previous week.