Four years of COVID-19 in La Conner

Monday was the four year anniversary of Gov. Jay Inslee’s March 23, 2020 emergency proclamation in response to the emerging coronavirus pandemic. He imposed a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy Order throughout Washington state by prohibiting all people in Washington state from leaving their homes or participating in social, spiritual and recreational gatherings of any kind regardless of the number of participants, and all non-essential businesses in Washington State from conducting business, within the limitations provided herein.”

Inslee’s order effectively shut down social society and much economic activity. It led actions governors throughout the country took and later policies of the federal government.

Inslee first declared a state of emergency in response to cases of COVID-19 Feb. 29.

That day the first death in the United States was announced by Public Health-Seattle & King County, the proclamation states.

In 2020, 262,516 Washingtonians were infected by COVID-19 and 4,461 died, the state Department of Health reports. In 2021, 6,165 residents died; in 2022, 4,157 died; and in 2023 1,510 died, for 15,535 deaths 2020-2023, as recorded by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Nationally, deaths were 385,676 in 2020, 463,267 in 2021, 246,263 in 2022 and 75,807 in 2023 for 1,171,013 deaths 2020-2023, as recorded by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.

Inslee lifted the state of emergency for COVID-19 Nov. 1, 2022.

The Weekly News’ first stories were in the March 11, 2020, issue and dominated coverage the next 18 months. This page captures a sampling of stories and photos printed.

March 11, 2020

Locals make run on hand sanitizer; toilet paper supplies low

Concerns of the Coronavirus have reached into La Conner.

Tuesday Mayor Ramon Hayes sent this recommendation from the Skagit County Health Officer to Town Councilmembers and staff: “The community should postpone non-essential events and gatherings of ten or more people.”

While there are no known infections in Skagit County, there have been local cancellations and runs on hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol and, yes, toilet paper.

At the start of last week staff taped a “No masks, No Sanitizer” sign on the door of the La Conner Drug store.

March, 25, 2020

Restaurants delivering on takeout

The variety of restaurants and coffee shops had a variety of sales volume in the week since Gov. Jay Inslee ordered they cease serving sit-down customers. They are an essential business under Inslee’s Monday declaration telling everyone to stay home, except for a short list of approved activities, including picking up take-out meals, getting groceries and medicines, seeing doctors and getting exercise. Social distancing – keeping six feet distance – is always necessary.

Car and foot traffic 1 p.m. Sunday was moderate on South First Street. People were having lunches at picnic tables at the boardwalk pocket parks as were two couple at Gilkey Square, where the trash receptacle on First and Morris was filled to overflowing.

April, 29, 2020

With amped up signage, visitors see social distancing message

La Conner has gone digital to get the word out on social distancing.

The Town has placed a rented electronic reader-board at the roundabout entrance to La Conner that implores weekend visitors to ‘stay home, stay safe” and maintain six-foot distancing while here to help curb spread of COVID-19.

That’s not all.

The Town Public Works Department last week implemented two other measures which, like the digital reader-board, were advanced during recent talks with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office designed to stem shoulder-to-shoulder congregating in La Conner.

May, 13, 2020

COVID-19 test site open at college

The best things in life truly are free.

And better yet when they’re also pain-free.

That’s been the case at the COVID-19 testing drive-thru site at Skagit Valley College, where Sgt. Jeff Willard of the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner detachment is part of the team assembled to quickly and efficiently guide the public through coronavirus self-exam stations.

Located in the large parking area east of SVC’s McIntyre Hall, the site has drawn between 50 and 200 vehicles daily since opening in late April. The site is designed to handle much larger traffic volumes than that, said Willard, who himself went through the testing process

“We get people here at 8 a.m. and we don’t open until 9,” said Willard, a traffic sergeant. “It’s not uncommon for us to have 12-15 cars when we open the gates.”

September, 1, 2021

County reopens fairground testing site

Here we go again. Skagit Public Health reopened its test site at the county fairgrounds on Monday. The hours are 5-8 p.m. Monday-Friday. Free antigen tests, with results in 15 minutes, and free vaccinations are offered. Julie de Losada, emergency preparedness and response manager for Skagit County Public Health, said the ratio was 20 to 1 of people getting tests to vaccinations. One line of cars inched along to the staff inside the F barn at the fairgrounds at 6 p.m..

The wait was probably over an hour to be seen for either a test or vaccination at 6:30 p.m., a volunteer estimated, though it seemed a slower process than that. Over 30 cars stretched back to the entrance ticket booth.

September, 8, 2021

August county COVID cases top 1,350

September’s start matched August’s end for increasing new coronavirus cases in Skagit County, with 394 new cases Aug. 30-Sept. 3, a 10% increase from Aug. 23-27. There were 10 new COVID-19 patient hospitalizations Sept. 1, alone and 16 for the week, matching the Aug. 23-27 new hospitalizations count.

The county case rate is 505.9 per 100,000 residents over the last 14 days with a hospitalization rate of 16.9 COVID-19 patients per 100,000 residents over the seven day period through Sept. 2.

August saw 87 COVID-19 patient hospitalizations, 3.3 times the 26 in July and 4.6 as many as the 19 in June. Seven people died from COVID-19 in the county in August after three deaths were reported in July.

The 1,353 new August cases are 25% greater than the 1,082 recorded in December, the second highest case count.

The Skagit Public Health Department started testing at the county fairgrounds Aug 30. One hundred two people tested positive, a 12% rate, of the 841 antigen tests given.

January, 1, 2022

Skagit County has 15,000 COVID cases

Last Tuesday, Jan. 4, the Washington state Department of Health reported the 10,000th death in the state from COVID-19 since record keeping began in early 2020. In Skagit County, 156 people have died in that period. There were 14 county resident deaths in December; 27 died in November. No deaths have been reported in 2022 through Jan. 6.

Since Nov. 1, 184 Skagitonians have been hospitalized, 24 since Jan. 1, 63 in December and 97 in November.

Experts are emphasizing increased hospitalizations and the stress put on healthcare systems over new case counts in the new year. “It is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations as opposed to the total number of cases,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical advisor to the president, said on ABC Jan. 3.

November, 9, 2022

Dramatic drop in new Skagit COVID-19 cases

New cases of coronavirus infections in Skagit County have dropped dramatically, 71% since July, when 1,078 people tested positive. The 315 positive tests in October are a 35.3% drop from the 487 new cases in September. In August 578 people had tested positive, itself a 55% reduction from July.

January, 11, 2023

Skagit COVID-19 cases continue to decline

Skagit County entered 2023 with COVID-19 cases on the decline. The seven day case rate per 100,000 residents fell to 50 for the week ending Dec. 31, 2022. The county case rate climbed some, to 60.6 per 100,000 residents through Jan. 4, just above the statewide rate of 58 cases per 100,000 people, according to state Department of Health data.

December totaled 407 confirmed cases, with new cases decreasing weekly, from 116 Dec. 1-7 to 70 Dec. 22-28, based on Washington state Department of Health data. New reported coronavirus cases in Skagit County declined 31% in December from November’s 591 total confirmed cases.

November 8, 2023

Get free COVID-19 tests

Place an order to receive four free COVID-⁠19 rapid test: special.usps.com/testkits or 800-232-0233. COVID-⁠19 tests are available to uninsured individuals and underserved communities. No-cost COVID-19 testing sites: aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/Pages/default.aspx.