COVID-19 public health emergency officially ends

OLYMPIA — With the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ending Thursday, the state Department of Health sounded notes of celebration and caution.

“All Washingtonians have had such a tremendously difficult time during the last few years,” said Dr. Umair Shah, secretary of the Department of Health. But, he added at a press briefing May 5, “the glimmer of hope is that Washingtonians did their part. And for that we should all be so incredibly proud.”

Shah detailed the high vaccination rates in the state and consistently low COVID-19 death rates relative to the rest of the country. According to federal data, Washington had the sixth-lowest COVID-19 death rate in both 2020 and 2021. He called all of this “remarkable” given Washington had the first known case, outbreak and death in the country.

Even so, more than 16,000 Washingtonians have died, which includes more than 1,500 Snohomish County residents, according to state data.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/covid-19-public-health-emergency-officially-ends/