Pierce County went from 14 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases on May 14th to 29 cases on May 20th, and numbers continue to increase. The county reported 44 confirmed cases today. At the same time, many individuals have returned to work, businesses have reopened, and families have attempted to resume normal summer activities.

“A doubling of positive cases in a week is very concerning, as this is an indicator that a spike is occurring,” AZ Snyder, Health Officer stated. “We did anticipate an increase of positive cases as testing capacity increased, but this increase was much greater than expected in such a short period of time. As a community, we must hold fast to public health recommendations to prevent this spike from developing into a surge of cases,” said Snyder.

In addition to the doubling of cases, Public Health has also noted a sharp rise in the number of close contacts reported by cases; many of whom require follow-up. “If this pattern continues, Public Health’s capacity will quickly become strained,

See HEALTH DEPT., Page 3