COVID-19 outbreak stems from Thanksgiving gathering

Cases among children on the rise

Clallam County Public Health officials were tracking on Thursday the first reported outbreak of COVID-19 stemming from a Thanksgiving gathering while reports of children infected with the virus increase.

On Thursday, an outbreak of 10 residents, connected to a family gathering last week, was reported in Clallam County, said Dr. Allison Berry, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.

“We’re likely to see more of those in the near future,” Berry said. “It’s not unanticipated, but it is certainly concerning.

“We will be monitoring it closely and do what we can with contract tracing to minimize further spread from those cases to other individuals in the community.”

The current outbreak of 10 residents has six children sick with COVID-19, Berry said.

Eighteen children have tested positive for COVID-19 in last three days as of Thursday — all traced back to family gatherings, Berry said.

“It’s too early to call it a trend, but so far, it is one of the things we saw as high-risk, which is young children gathering at those Thanksgiving gatherings, kids who were either too young to be vaccinated or not yet vaccinated contracting the virus at Thanksgiving gatherings,” Berry said.

Berry said that more children 5 to 11 years old are getting vaccinated.

As of Nov. 26, about 24 percent of children 5 to 11 years old have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in Jefferson County, while about 12 percent of that age group have started vaccinations in Clallam County, Berry has said.

The updated percentage of those residents getting vaccinated will be released today.

“We’re hopeful that that number will kick up,” Berry said.

Jefferson County Public Health and the Department of Emergency Management will host two Pfizer vaccination clinics in December for first and second doses for children 5 to 11.

The first clinic will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Blue Heron Middle School, 3939 San Juan Ave. in Port Townsend. Appointments can be scheduled at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-FirstClinic.

The second clinic will be from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 18 at Chimacum Junior/Senior High School’s multi-purpose room at 93 West Valley Road in Chimacum. Appointments can be made at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-SecondClinic.

For those without internet access, appointments for the two clinics can made by calling the Department of Emergency Management at 360-344-9791.

In Port Angeles, Olympic Medical Center is spearheading the vaccinations for children, with walk-in appointments available on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital’s Front Street Clinic, 901 E. Front St. in Port Angeles.

More information on OMC vaccinations can be found at www.olympicmedical.org/covid-19-vaccine-information.

Residents can also use the state’s vaccination locator at www.vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/?language=en to find children’s vaccinations, booster doses and initial vaccinations.

New cases

On Thursday, Clallam County added 16 cases of COVID-19. The county has confirmed a total of 5,311 cases since the start of the pandemic, county health data said.

Jefferson County added two cases on Thursday. The county has confirmed a total of 1,313 cases since the pandemic began, according to county public health data.

Clallam County is seeing its case rate creeping higher as cases from the holiday come in.

On Thursday it had a case rate of 179 per 100,000 population for the past two weeks as of Thursday.

On Monday, the county had a case rate of 167 per 100,000 population for the past two weeks as of Monday, according to county public health data.

Jefferson County will update its case rate today, due to last week’s holiday. Health officials recorded a case rate of 192.61 per 100,000 for the two weeks prior as of Nov. 17.

Berry does not expect a significant change to Jefferson County’s case rate to be reported today. There might be a slight increase, but, due to a smaller population, a rate in the high 100s to low 200s would be within expectations, she said.

No new deaths were reported Thursday. Since the pandemic began, Clallam County has had 72 residents die from COVID-19, while Jefferson County has had 19 residents die.

________

Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

Navy training exercise to be conducted Thursday

Naval Magazine Indian Island will conduct a security training… Continue reading

North Olympic Library System public service specialist Jessica Raivo transfers books from the stacks to a cart on Saturday at the Sequim Public Library for eventual transport to a temporary library building. The current library on North Sequim Avenue is slated for renovation and expansion with library services slated to resume on April 1 at 609 W. Washington St., next to Fifth Avenue Furniture, in the storefront that was previously Brian’s Sporting Goods. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Book transfer

North Olympic Library System public service specialist Jessica Raivo transfers books from… Continue reading

Jefferson County is eying short-term rental regulations

Feedback to be presented to Planning Commission

Clallam PUD seeking faster solution for West End outages

County commissioners, coalition support idea of expanded right of way

From left to right, Sean Coleman, Colleen Robinson, Brown Maloney and Todd Ortloff display the awards they earned Friday during the annual gala of the Clallam County Economic Development Council at Field Arts & Events Hall in Port Angeles (Lorie Fazio/Clallam County EDC)
Coleman named Olympic Leader of the Year at EDC gala

Habitat for Humanity, Radio Pacific also win awards during event

Historic bell missing from Camp Parsons

Property crime up in Brinnon area, director says

Casey and Karen Proud, both of Sequim, look at a selection of St. Patrick’s Day hats and other souvenirs for participating in Saturday’s Shamrock Shuffle & Pub Crawl in downtown Port Angeles. The event, a benefit for the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Education Foundation, allowed crawlers to receive six tasting tokens for libations at participating bars and restaurants in the downtown area with a drawing for additional prizes. Numerous downtown businesses also offered sale discounts for purchases during the crawl. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Winter sports benefit in Port Angeles

Casey and Karen Proud, both of Sequim, look at a selection of… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, right, discusses emergency services on Thursday during a roundtable session with emergency managers from across the region, including Clallam County Sheriff Brian King, left, and Clallam County Administrator Todd Mielke in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Clallam seeks additional funds for emergency operations center

Administrator says $10 million still needed for proposed project

More than 100 educators appeared at Thursday’s Port Angeles School District board meeting to show their support for paraeducators, who are seeking a 3.7 percent pay raise and have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Paraeducators fill school board meeting

Labor group asking for same raise teachers received

Committee forms to support Quilcene school levy

Lack of communication cited for failed vote

Herb Beck Marina improvements in the works

New concrete boat launch among the plans