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Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 08/20/2020 - Many Kittitas County residents are informing themselves about COVID-19, specifically COVID-19 related data. The Kittitas County Incident Management Team (IMT) has recommendations on how to stay informed through this pandemic.
Different sites have different data points. Our local dashboard has current active cases, and that is different that the incident rate of COVID-19 in our county. Use the local dashboard for basic information such as confirmed cases, recovered, tests pending, et cetera. If you are looking for the incident rate, please use the Phase and Risk Assessment Dashboard via Washington State https://coronavirus.wa.gov/what-you-need-know/covid-19-risk-assessment-dashboard. The incident rate includes all new COVID-19 cases in the county within the last 14 days. The incident rate includes all symptomatic, asymptomatic, and recovered cases over the last two weeks. It is the best way to measure the most recent COVID-19 activity in a community. Per 100,000 is just a way that numbers can be compared across the state, since every county has a different population. For example, Kittitas County is 48,140 and Kitsap is 272,200, but using per 100,000 means we can compare the incident rate straight across – Kittitas County is 96.6 and 51.5. The data here is also usually a couple of days behind. Always take note of when data has been updated last. There are other vetted sites of information for COVID-19 as well. The Washington State Department of Health’s dashboard shows current status, and also cumulative case counts along with testing information. Additional sites are also the University of Washington’s COVID-19 Projections website https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america and the Johns Hopkins site at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html The IMT would like to remind residents of Kittitas County to take breaks from COVID-19 related news from time to time. Limiting exposure to news can help cope with stress and this includes social media. If you have questions about your health, please contact your healthcare provider or you can call the Temporary COVID Clinic at KVH at 509-933-8850. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the Emergency Department at KVH. If you have general questions about COVID-19, please call the EOC at 509-933-8315 or 509-933-8305.
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
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Contact: Kasey Knutson, Public Information Officer, (509) 962-7515