Cases of COVID-19 are going up nationally for the first time this year. What about Spokane?

Cases of COVID-19 are going up nationally for the first time in 2023, but Spokane’s rise in cases has been modest and is not cause to change precautionary measures, experts say.

But as the now-endemic virus becomes more of a seasonal threat, local health care leaders are urging caution as schools reopen for the fall – even as a surge of a deadly variant remains unlikely.

Rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations were last on the rise in December of last year – that surge peaking at 44,471 hospitalizations in a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Since then, COVID-19 hospitalization rates have fallen consistently all year, reaching a low of just over 6,000 hospitalizations nationally in early July.

Hospitalization rates began to increase in late July for the first time this year. There were 9,056 hospitalizations in the last week of July – a 12.5% increase from the week before. Still low compared to the heights of pandemic hospitalization, the increase still concerns some experts.

Countywide data from the Spokane Regional Health District shows the beginning of that trend on a much smaller scale. Hospitalization rates fell locally beginning in March, with fewer than five COVID-19 patients admitted to a local hospital in a given week from March through June. Spokane saw a jump in mid-July to 12 hospitalizations in one week and eight people in the hospital as of Aug. 5.

Dr. Francisco Velázquez, the district’s health officer, said in an interview that hospitalizations might not be the most important metric regarding COVID-19. Many more of those who contract the virus now do not need to be hospitalized or report their case, compared to earlier years of the pandemic. He argued wastewater detection is a more reliable metric.

“Trends are important more than the individual case numbers because we know that not every case is being reported. Why? There’s a lot of home testing that is happening, which is great,” he said. “Wastewater is an actual reflection of the presence of the virus in the community because it’s independent of testing. It doesn’t matter whether you test yourself or not – it ends up in the wastewater.”

The health district publishes both metrics on their website, and they have largely moved in tandem throughout the pandemic, including recently.

Kelli Hawkins, a district spokesperson, confirmed that the health agency is monitoring the national uptick of the virus but that it is not yet particularly evident locally.

“Spokane follows national trends so we may see later. We’ll just have to watch,” Hawkins said.

Right now the health district is not recommending residents take extra precautions unless they are especially at risk for COVID-19.

“Take precautions if you are at risk right now – older, immunocompromised,” Hawkins said. “If there’s a greater uptick then other people should start to take precautions.”

Precautions include washing hands frequently and wearing a mask while in large groups.

Representatives of Spokane’s two large hospitals, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, both confirmed they have not noticed an uptick of coronavirus cases in recent weeks. But Kevin Maloney, a Deaconess spokesman, noted that a lack of hospital cases does not preclude an overall increase of the virus in the community.

“Not everybody who contracts COVID needs to have a hospitalization. What we’re seeing now is that folks who are testing positive for COVID aren’t seeing quite the same drastic measures that we saw just even a couple of months ago. Their cases aren’t quite as severe,” Maloney said.

But even as COVID recedes in the public’s mind, Maloney stressed those who contract the virus still need to isolate for at least five days and then wear a mask when going out.

“Masking is still something that MultiCare is encouraging people to do if they are feeling those symptoms,” Maloney said.

Velázquez warned in his interview that “COVID has not gone away.” Instead, those in the community should expect to change precautionary measures they take as cases of the virus go up and down through the year.

“(COVID) kind of went up at the beginning of the summer, then came down as expected, and I have a feeling we’ll probably go back up again a little bit,” Velázquez said. “And as long as the trends have that oscillation that is not dramatic, we should be OK. But that increase technically can precede an increase in clinical cases that may need more care by up to 10 days. Our health care providers are tracking that.”

Velázquez likened COVID-19’s current form to annual respiratory illnesses such as the flu or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which require annual mitigation efforts, including vaccines. Rollout of new COVID-19 vaccines targeting the virus’s latest variants is expected by the end of September. Velázquez said he expects this to be an annual occurrence going forward.

“We’re going to see the vaccine change, and the vaccine is going to change based on the sublineages that are most prominent in your area,” he said.

These annual shots could join other vaccines the public is encouraged to take around the beginning of each school year. Hawkins noted COVID-19, like these other respiratory viruses, could see an annual uptick when school starts. She suggested parents make sure their children washes their hands each day after school and to have teachers ensure their students use hand sanitizer throughout the day.

“Disinfectant is always on school supply lists,” she said.

Spokane Public Schools, the largest district in the county, is not taking any specific COVID-19 precautions ahead of the upcoming school year beginning Sept. 6. The district is advising that parents keep their students home when they’re sick with symptoms including a 100-degree fever, a bad cough or sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea or if ill with a contagious disease.

Mead School District advises families to keep their kids at home if they test positive for COVID-19 and not return to school until they’re without fever and symptoms are improving for 24 hours.

Other Spokane County school districts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Between August and November 2022, there were 39 recorded outbreaks in schools in Spokane County, totaling 199 recorded cases, according to the Washington Department of Health.

Staff writer Elena Perry contributed to this story.