Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers (top left), Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters (top right) and Dr. Jay Cook, chief medical officer for Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, give updates Tuesday on the response to COVID-19. (Snohomish County Health District)

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers (top left), Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters (top right) and Dr. Jay Cook, chief medical officer for Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, give updates Tuesday on the response to COVID-19. (Snohomish County Health District)

Prediction: 33%-50% of Snohomish County could catch omicron

“Everyone should assume that they’re going to be exposed,” Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers said.

EVERETT — As many as half of Snohomish County residents could contract the omicron variant in the most recent surge of coronavirus infections, health officials said Tuesday.

The county’s most recent data showed about 2% of residents have tested positive in the past two weeks. But with testing demand outstripping supply, Snohomish County health officer Dr. Chris Spitters said more like 8% to 10% of residents have likely contracted the virus over that period. And cases are still on the rise.

On Tuesday, Spitters and Dr. Jay Cook, chief medical officer of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, said it’s reasonable to expect the omicron surge to push that number to 33% to 50%.

“I’m hearing more people say that we’re all going to get omicron,” county Executive Dave Somers told reporters Tuesday. “I think everyone should assume that they’re going to be exposed … so the best course of action for a good outcome is to get vaccinated.”

Somers pointed to his own recent infection. After being fully vaccinated and getting a booster shot, he said, his symptoms were mild and only lasted three days.

“That’s the outcome we’d like to see,” he said. “Mild cases. Not a burden on the health care system.”

Cook also noted the vast majority of COVID patients ending up in his hospital’s intensive care unit — about 90% — are unvaccinated. The number of COVID-positive hospital patients countywide continues to break records, soaring to 176 this week. Fifteen were intubated.

Providence stood up an emergency command center about a week ago to coordinate supplies and staffing for its Everett hospital. It’s a strategy used in previous waves of the infection, though Cook said this may be the longest and most fully staffed stint.

Non-emergency procedures were still on pause. Each week the hospital will evaluate if they can resume.

Amid dire staff shortages, California this week allowed some health care employees to continue working if they tested positive for COVID-19. But here, exposures and infections are forcing nurses and staff into isolation.

“At no time has the health care system status been more precarious and … access to acute care been in greater peril,” Spitters said.

Meanwhile, the county is working to order hundreds of thousands of at-home test kits to ease demand on testing sites seeing hours-long lines and fully booked appointments.

But those are likely three to four weeks out, Spitters said. Officials are still figuring out how they’ll be distributed.

Snohomish County has also been chosen by the state to host a new mass vaccination site. Details about where and when it will operate were to come. It could be up and running by the end of January, Spitters said.

“Although this paints a picture that’s rather bleak and overwhelming,” he said, “it’s conceivable that although the worst is ahead, it’s not too far off.”

Spitters pointed to updated modeling by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that suggests the state’s surging cases could crest and begin falling in a week or so.

“But we do all need to kind of hold it together,” he said. “Exercise restraint and discipline.”

Claudia Yaw: 425-339-3449; claudia.yaw@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @yawclaudia.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

South County Fire plans push-in ceremony for newest fire engine

Anybody who attends will have the opportunity to help push the engine into the station.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

‘Voter friendly’ election ballots set to go out for Snohomish County voters

Materials will include some changes to make the process easier to vote in Aug. 5 primary.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Kathy Johnson walks over a tree that has been unsuccessfully chainsawed along a CERCLA road n the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on Thursday, July 10, 2025 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How Roadless Rule repeal could affect forests like Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

The Trump administration plans to roll back a 2001 rule protecting over 58 million acres of national forest, including areas in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie area.

Edmonds police officers investigate a shooting that occurred at 236/Edmonds Way Thursday in Edmonds, Washington. (Edmonds Police Department).
Jury convicts Edmonds man in fatal shooting of rideshare driver

After three hours, a 12-person jury convicted Alex Waggoner, 22, of second-degree murder for shooting Abdulkadir Shariif, 31, in January 2024.

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard
Angelina Godoy, director of the University of Washington Center for Human Rights, speaks to reporters alongside advocates outside Boeing Field in Seattle on Tuesday.
Deportation flights at WA airport up dramatically this year, advocates say

Activists also say King County officials aren’t being transparent enough about the flights in and out of Boeing Field.

Smoke shrouds the hilltops as the Bolt Creek Fire burns through thick forest in 2022 on U.S. Highway 2 near Index. Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras placed in 21 high-risk wildfire locations around Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Online feeds from WA’s wildfire detection cameras are now available

Members of the public can now view video feeds from artificial-intelligence-assisted cameras… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.