March 23, 2021
Skagit Public Health publishes 2020 COVID-19 Data Report
Today, Skagit Public Health released the Skagit County 2020 COVID-19 data report. This report provides an empirical overview of Public Health and Unified Command’s COVID-19 response in 2020. Unified Command is comprised of Skagit Public Health, the Department of Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s office.
“This report is intended to provide a useful snapshot into how the pandemic evolved throughout the year and how we responded,” said Lea Hamner, Public Health Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Lead. Ms. Hamner is the lead author of this report. “Our hope is that it provides some helpful insight for the community, our partners and elected leaders on response efforts as we continue to respond to this pandemic and plan for the future efforts.”
The first COVID-19 case in Skagit County was confirmed on March 10, 2021- just five weeks after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the U.S. in Everett, Washington. Being close to the epicenter of the pandemic, Skagit has been engaged in COVID-19 planning and response since the very beginning and has some unique lessons to offer the community at large.
“We’ve learned a lot throughout our response this past year,” said Jennifer Johnson, Public Health Director, who also serves as a part of Unified Command. “As the pandemic evolves our local public health response adapts to serve our community. Hopefully this report will be useful for after-action conversations and future planning to assure a local public health infrastructure that can adapt to future health threats and emergencies.”
Sheriff Don McDermott, who serves as the head of the Department of Emergency Management and with Unified Command said, “It’s been an honor to serve Skagit County during this difficult time. We’re not out of the woods yet, but through the efforts of Public Health, Unified Command and the community at large, we’re getting there.”
The report can be read in full here. For more information about Skagit’s COVID-19 response, visit www.skagitcounty.net/coronavirus. If you have questions or need additional information call the COVID-19 hotline at 360-416-1500.
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