Local COVID-19 cases hit 20

The local area has now seen more than 20 cases of COVID-19, according to statistics offered by local county health authorities.

Okanogan Public Health reports two in Coulee Dam and 11 in Nespelem.

Grant County Health District reports seven cases in the Grand Coulee area, plus one in Coulee City they have not been able to confirm is a resident.

Okanogan County has seen a total of 782 cases, 297 of them in the last 14 days, including eight deaths.

Grant County has seen 1,343 cases, including 10 who have died. GCHD counts 688 of those as “recovered,” but notes in their data the term simply means the patient is not hospitalized 28 days after testing positive. “Cases listed as recovered may still be symptomatic and may have long-term health effects from COVID-19,” it states.

The vast majority of people who have gotten the disease in these two counties are under 60 years old, and the largest age group is 20-39.

In Okanogan County, 40% are over 19 and under 40. In Grant County, that’s 46%, and 193 people 18 and under have tested positive, 147 in Okanogan County.