||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT |||
Since the last update on Friday September 24, there have been nine new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan County. Current total case count is now 309.
Of these nine new cases, initial investigations indicate that six appear to have occurred in fully vaccinated individuals. Please note that if the vaccination rates in San Juan County were not as high as they are, many more cases would be seen in unvaccinated individuals. There are approximately six unvaccinated close contacts of positive cases who are currently in two-week quarantine.
- LOPEZ ISLAND: There are five new cases on Lopez Island since the last update. There are five positive cases under active monitoring on Lopez Island.
- ORCAS ISLAND: There are two new cases on Orcas Island since the last update. There are two positive cases under active monitoring on Orcas Island.
- SAN JUAN ISLAND: There are two new cases on San Juan Island since the last update. There are three positive cases under active monitoring on San Juan Island.
GET YOUR SHOT! Those wanting a first or second shot of Pfizer or a first (and only) dose of Johnson and Johnson should sign up for clinics happening on San Juan (OCT 5), Orcas (OCT 6), and Lopez (OCT 7) by going HERE to register. Pfizer for ages 12 and up, Johnson and Johnson for ages 18 and older.
THIRD DOSE BOOSTERS: San Juan County will be offering clinics for Pfizer boosters the week of October 18. Registration for those clinics will open later this coming week. Monitor www.sjccovid.com for details.
COMMON SENSE REMINDER: San Juan County is one of the very few counties in the entire United States without a single resident who has died from COVID. San Juan County also has one of the lowest case rates in the entire country, even with the spike in Delta cases. San Juan County has the highest vaccination rate in Washington and is near the top nationally. San Juan County residents have consistently prioritized caring for each other and the island community in their individual actions. These things are connected y’all. The sacrifice and inconvenience of getting shots, wearing masks, limiting activity, and disrupting our lives has without a doubt saved the lives of islanders, and that’s no small thing. It’s easy to feel distanced from the frontline impacts of COVID since our community has fared so well, but it is important to remember that it didn’t happen by accident. We collectively made our own good fortune, and that is a remarkable thing. The sacrifice required of us will diminish with time, but a disease that has now killed nearly 700,000 Americans has been a real crisis that requires real collective action — thank you islanders for yours.
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I think we also owe you, Brendan, a big THANKS and credit for keeping us informed of the course of the virus in very specific terms. I think this detailed and frequent information was very helpful in guiding us to take safety steps seriously and protect ourselves and our community. I know
there are others on your team who contributed to these efforts but you were the “face” of that information. You have done a great job!
If I’m reading the data correctly, we are also the largest county in the entire United States, by population, not to have had a single death.
But if someone got evacuated to the mainland and died there, would it be recorded as a San Juan County fatality?