First death from COVID-19 reported in Jefferson County

Posted

Jefferson County recorded its first death from COVID-19 Tuesday, according to Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke. 

The victim was a woman in her 90s who was chronically ill and receiving hospice care. The woman died at her residence Tuesday and her physician certified her death as caused by COVID-19 infection on Wednesday, Locke said. 

Locke said Jefferson County Public Health regularly investigates COVID-19 outbreaks in homes, workplaces and other group settings and that each investigation involves identifying contacts who could have been infected. He said such contacts are notified, quarantined and tested for COVID-19.

Locke declined to specifically say where the woman was living at the time of her death, saying, "we do not release information about exposure or outbreak location when we are able to identify and directly notify all close contacts through this investigation process." 

In rare circumstances, Locke said Jefferson County Public Health could issue a public statement to notify potential contacts, but that it has not had need for such methods thus far. 

Until this week’s COVID-19 death, Jefferson County had been one of just four counties in Washington to not report a death due to the coronavirus.

The other counties that have not reported a death from COVID are San Juan, Garfield and Wahkiakum counties.

In counties neighboring Jefferson, there have been three COVID-related deaths in Clallam; 12 in Island; 11 in Mason; 17 in Grays Harbor; and 30 in Kitsap.