PACIFIC COUNTY — It just keeps getting worse.

With nearly 100 new cases, a handful of new hospitalizations and another death reported within Pacific County over the past week, the county is getting dangerously close to matching its worst peak of the pandemic and putting a severe strain on its two small hospitals.

With 95 new covid-19 cases from Aug. 17 to 23, the case rate per 100,000 people over a two-week period stood at 799 in the county, up from “just” 522 a week prior, according to the Pacific County Health and Human Services Department. It’s the highest the case rate has been since last November, when Pacific County was experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the country.

But back then, a cold and wet late fall and early winter period forced people indoors to the virus’ benefit, and a free and effective vaccine — let alone three of them — wasn’t yet available to protect against a disease that has infected more than 10% of the U.S. population and killed at least 630,000 Americans, with more than 1,000 again dying every day. In Pacific County, more than 40% of the eligible population has refused to get vaccinated, endangering themselves and prolonging a pandemic that they vociferously believe has infringed on their individual rights and freedoms.

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Ocean Beach Hospital and Willapa Harbor Hospital are each experiencing ‘extreme difficulty’ finding available ICU beds at out-of-county hospitals to transfer hospitalized covid-19 patients to.

And so the pandemic rages on, with an 18th Pacific County resident dying due to complications of covid-19 this week. It’s the fourth straight week at least one covid-related death has been reported, and this most recent death came from an individual in their 20s, the youngest of the five people who were hospitalized by the virus over the past week. The others included one individual in their 90s, one in their 80s, one in their 70s and one in their 60s.

While most people who are getting sick to the point of needing to be hospitalized still skew older, county health director Katie Lindstrom said younger people are being hospitalized at a higher rate during the Delta variant surge than they were in earlier phases of the pandemic.

Following a meeting between the county health department and health care providers on Monday, Lindstrom said Ocean Beach Hospital and Willapa Harbor Hospital are each experiencing “extreme difficulty” finding available ICU beds at out-of-county hospitals to transfer hospitalized covid-19 patients to, so they can receive more specialized care and ensure that their hospitals are not overwhelmed.

“That’s really concerning,” Lindstrom said. “Different hospitals are certified in different levels of care, and if you need to be transferred out that might be because you need a different level of care that they can’t provide here locally.”

At Willapa Harbor Hospital over the weekend, it took at least five inquiries and several hours for the north county hospital to find an out-of-county hospital that could accept a transfer for a recently admitted coronavirus patient.

An ongoing sliver of good news is that the weekly vaccination rate for Pacific County — and the rest of the country — has continued to tick up in recent weeks. From Aug. 15 to 21, 154 county residents received their first covid-19 vaccine dose, the most in a weekly stretch since the first week of June. About 52.3% of all Pacific County residents, and 58.5% of eligible county residents, have received at least one vaccine dose.

For a full list of upcoming vaccine clinics throughout Pacific County, visit www.pacificcountycovid19.com.

Mask mandate is back

With cases rising virtually everywhere in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee announced at a news conference last week that a mask mandate for everyone — regardless of vaccination status — would return to indoor public settings, including grocery stores, restaurants and public-facing offices.

That mandate went into effect on Monday, and anecdotal reports showed that most people and businesses on the peninsula were adhering to the order. A mask mandate had previously still been in effect for people who were unvaccinated, but it was clear that unvaccinated individuals have been flouting the mandate locally throughout the summer.

Exceptions to the indoor masking requirement include office spaces that aren’t easily accessible to the public and where everyone in the space is vaccinated, vehicles with no face-to-face interaction, and small, private indoor gatherings where everyone is vaccinated. Individuals are also recommended — but not required — to wear masks in crowded outdoor settings, such as farmer’s markets, fairs and concerts.

Inslee’s announcement came after local health officials from all 35 health jurisdictions in Washington issued a joint statement last week recommending all residents — regardless of vaccination status — to wear a mask or facial covering in indoor public settings “where the vaccination status of those around you is unknown.”

“I know this will frustrate some vaccinated folks who thought they wouldn’t have to do this anymore,” Inslee said. “There are not enough people vaccinated. The result is the explosive growth of a much more infectious strain, the Delta variant, and its increasingly concerning impacts on people of all ages.”