The number of COVID-19 cases in Jefferson County continues to surge, and the county is experiencing its highest case rate of the disease since the start of the pandemic, health officials said this week. 

“This is not headed in the right direction,” Commissioner Kate Dean said during the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners weekly pandemic update Monday. 

Dr. Allison Berry, Jefferson County Public Health Officer, said COVID-19 cases were moving in the wrong direction nationally, statewide, and in Jefferson County.

The U.S. coronavirus case count has gone up 112 percent, she said, while hospitalizations have risen 83 percent, and deaths have increased by 92 percent.

There are shortages of hospital beds and ventilators for COVID patients in some places in the south, and there have been critical shortages of healthcare workers, as well, Berry added.

“It’s really a critical time nationally,” she said.

Cases have risen 154 percent in Washington, and there has been a 54 percent increase in hospitalizations.

The COVID-19 death toll has not seen a significant rise yet statewide, but Berry said that is a lagging indicator and may change within two weeks.

“Now is really the time to turn this around,” Berry said.

The numbers in Jefferson County are also not looking good, she said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the county hit 554 Monday.

That marks a two-week COVID case rate of 197.49 per 100,000 population.

“That is the highest it has ever been,” Berry said.

The 554 cases is an increase of 13 new cases since Friday, when 541 were reported.

Nine of the new cases involved males, while the other three were females.

Positive COVID test results were reported in nearly all parts of the county; six in Port Townsend, five in the mid-county area, and two in west county.

Two residents under the age of 20 were infected, along with four residents in their 20s, three residents in their 30s, one resident in their 40s, two residents in their 50s, and one resident in their 60s.

A total of 37 residents were still in isolation Monday due to potential COVID-19 contact.

Some test results are still pending.

There have been 27,473 tests for COVID-19 in Jefferson County since the start of the pandemic, and 26,915 have resulted in negative results.

In Jefferson County, 464 people have recovered from COVID-19 and 40 people have been hospitalized for the disease. (People are considered “recovered” at 28 days from the onset of symptoms if they are alive and not hospitalized, according to the state Department of Health.)

Four deaths of Jefferson County residents have been linked to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.