Editorial: Delta variant is playing hardball; so must we
Mandates, it is.
The past week has seen a new round of requirements and calls to expand mandates — for masking and for covid-19 vaccinations — because of the frightening increase in coronavirus infections locally and across the state and nation, almost exclusively caused by the delta variant, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is nearly twice as contagious as the original virus and its earlier variants.
In Snohomish County, covid infections have reached their second-highest peak of the five surges since covid’s arrival in the county in March 2020. The most recent numbers from the Snohomish Health District showed a weekly total of 1,310 confirmed and probable infections at the end of July, while the most recent numbers for the two-week rolling average showed a rate of 279 infections per 100,000 residents, easily surpassing the rate seen for the fourth wave in late April and early May.
At the same time, hospitalizations at Snohomish County hospitals for the last week of July jumped to 35 new admissions for covid infections, up from 14 to 17 weekly admissions just a few weeks ago. A total of 62 covid patients were in local hospitals as of Tuesday. Intensive care units at local hospitals, including non-covid patients, are now above 90 percent capacity.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-delta-variant-is-playing-hardball-so-must-we/