SPOKANE, Wash. – In the midst of continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and continued federal monitoring of respiratory viruses, the Spokane Regional Health District has released a new respiratory illness dashboard.
Communicable Disease Investigation and Prevention Manager Mark Springer says that the dashboard is a win for public health and transparency.
“The respiratory illness dashboard allows SRHD to share information directly to the community…Seeing illness trends and virus levels in wastewater will allow organizations and people in the community to make informed policies and decisions that could ultimately save lives,” Springer said.
Weekly emergency department visits information and hospitalizations are both provided by the dashboard, alongside wastewater virus surveillance.
While COVID-19 has become a less visible public health risk, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still designate seniors, infants, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant people as populations with heightened risk from communicable respiratory illnesses.
