The Kitsap Public Health District has confirmed that a fifth person in the county has died of COVID-19 since March.
After only having three deaths in the first four months, there have been two deaths in as many weeks.
The district reported Wednesday that there were eight new positive cases of COVID since Tuesday, bringing the countywide total of positive cases to 708 since March and a positive test rate of 3.5 percent, which has also been climbing in recent weeks.
A total of 90 cases are considered “active” by the district, meaning they are “confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases … participating in daily monitoring.” Another 371 were categorized as “active contacts” or individuals determined to be close contacts of a lab-confirmed case and are participating in daily monitoring.
Per the health district, the average age of cases has declined over the past four months from 47 years in March to 40 years in June. The highest increase of positive cases is in the 20-29 age range, followed by ages 30-39.
The most-recent death was of an “older adult male with underlying health conditions,” according to the district.
To date, 20,146 residents have tested negative for COVID-19. 422 infections were confirmed by the health district in July — more than all the other months combined.
Of the 708 total cases, 21 have been reported on Bainbridge Island, 237 in Bremerton, 187 in Central Kitsap, 124 in North Kitsap and 139 in South Kitsap.
The age breakdown for confirmed positive cases per 100,000 in the past 30 days are as follows:
0 – 9: 90
10 – 19: 158
20 – 29: 355
30 – 39: 283
40 – 49: 161
50 – 59: 106
60 – 69: 71
70 – 79: 78
80 and older: 52