COVID cases in Enumclaw have been ticking up during the month of December, but the seven-day average remains below what the city was experiencing in September and October.

According to King County’s COVID case dashboard, Enumclaw’s total number of COVID cases has risen to 2,096 as of Dec. 17, roughly 500 additional cases since September.

The month started out with a seven-day average of just three cases, but that average jumped to four when 11 cases were reported on Dec. 2. The seven-day average continued to climb as another six cases were reported Dec. 3, eight cases on Dec. 6, 10 cases on Dec. 7, and another 10 cases on Dec. 9, culminating in a seven-day average high of 6 cases that day.

Several days of low- or no reported cases brought the seven-day average back down to 5 on Dec. 13, the most recent date with any case data as of Dec. 17, but that could change as another 11 cases were reported that day.

Hospitalizations and deaths have also been increasing, albeit slowly; there have been roughly 20 additional hospitalizations since September, putting the total at 110. The current seven-day average of hospitalizations, as of Dec. 17, is zero.

There have been about five additional COVID deaths since September, bringing the city’s total death count to 37; likewise to the hospitalization average, the seven-day average of deaths is at zero as of Dec. 17.

Enumclaw’s case rate per 100,000 residents continues to be higher than King County as a whole; the city’s case rate remains north of 17,644, compared to the county’s 7,935.

Similarly, the hospitalization and death rates in Enumclaw also soar well above the county’s rates. The city’s hospitalization rate per 100,000 residents is 926 (King County’s is roughly 395) and the death rate per 100,000 residents is 311.5 (compared to King County’s 94.5).

Vaccination status in the 98022 ZIP code area also continues to lag behind other parts of the county, with a few exceptions.

According to King County’s vaccination summary dashboard, just over 69 percent of people ages 12 and up have at least one dose of a COVID vaccine; the only ZIP code with a lower rate (66.6 percent) is the 98051 area, which includes Ravensdale, Kanaskat, Kangley, and Selleck; the 98105 ZIP code area, which encompasses the University of Washington and surrounding neighborhoods in Seattle, has a similar first-dose rate to Enumclaw (69.7 percent).