PACIFIC COUNTY — Cases of covid-19 have risen locally, regionally and statewide over the past month, the county health department warned last week.

The Pacific County Health and Human Services Department noted in an update last week that the level of covid activity has been steadily increasing and is approaching the “alert threshold,” the level when more urgent and precautionary measures should be taken to try and limit a significant spike in cases.

Essentially, the alert threshold in this case is when roughly 4% of emergency room visits countywide are due to people suffering from complications of covid. Once that threshold has been hit, “there is a greater chance that the rates will continue to go up and have a significant increase leading to spiking.”

Thus far in August, according to the Washington State Department of Health, about 2.2% of all hospitalizations in the Cascade Pacific Action Alliance area are due to covid-19, up from 2% in July and up from 1.8% over the same period in 2023. The Cascade Pacific Action Alliance covers seven counties in Western Washington, including Pacific, Grays Harbor, Wahkiakum, Mason, Lewis, Cowlitz and Thurston.

Similar to regional trends, the county health department reports that cases of covid began to elevate in July. By late July, 3.3% of all emergency room visits in Pacific County were due to the virus, “with similar fluctuations most recently that are reminiscent of a similar pattern we had just before our September surge last year.”

“While Pacific County has not reached that alert threshold just yet, the previous weeks’ trends across the state and locally are notable,” the department noted in its update, adding that other counties in the state have already surpassed their alert threshold.

As always, the health department recommends that those who might be more susceptible to severe cases of covid-19 take extra precautions, such as wearing a mask when in confined public spaces, washing hands after using public spaces — such as the park, library and grocery store — and gathering outdoors while the weather still permits.

Oral antiviral medications, such as Paxlovid, as well as monoclonal antibody treatments are available in Pacific County for those who test positive for covid and are at high risk due to age or certain underlying health conditions, although they require an order from a medical provider. The treatments are more effective if taken within the first few days of contracting the disease.