Novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a new respiratory disease. Washington State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the first U.S. case of COVID-19 in Snohomish County, Wash. on Jan. 21, 2020. Since then, the virus has spread across the state and country. Clark County Public Health announced the first local case on March 6, 2020.
Questions about COVID-19?
Clark County Public Health call center: 888.225.4625 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 assistance hotline: 800.525.0127 6 am to 10 pm Monday, 6 am to 6 pm Tuesday through Sunday and state-observed holidays.
Language assistance is available for both lines.
Please note: The call centers cannot access COVID-19 testing results. For testing inquiries or results, please contact your health care provider.
Report violations
Suspected violations of the governor's order can be reported on the state's Report a Recovery Plan Violation website. Complaints are routed to the appropriate licensing or oversight agency for follow up.
Workplace safety complaints about coronavirus or other issues can be filed by calling Washington Labor & Industries at 800.423.7233.
COVID-19 cases and close contacts
What to expect if you test positive
Health care providers notify Clark County Public Health every time someone tests positive for COVID-19. After receiving the report, Public Health calls the sick person to see how they are doing. We ask them to isolate at home until they are no longer considered contagious. This is to ensure they don’t spread the virus to others.
Those who test positive and have symptoms of COVID-19 can end isolation when:
- they’ve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine AND
- other symptoms are improving AND
- at least 10 days have passed since symptoms began.
Those who test positive but do not have symptoms can end isolation when:
- at least 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive test AND
- they have not developed symptoms of COVID-19
See the handout, What to do if you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19, for additional guidance.
Public Health also asks everyone who tests positive to notify anyone they were in close contact with that they may have been exposed to COVID-19.
What to do if you're in close contact with someone who tests positive
Those who had close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 may be at risk of getting sick. This includes close contact that occurred in the two days before the sick person’s symptoms began up until the sick person began isolating. Close contacts include everyone who:
- was within 6 feet of the sick person for more than 15 minutes
- was near the sick person’s coughs or sneezes
- lives in the same home as the sick person
- cared for the sick person
Those who have been exposed to COVID-19 can develop symptoms 2 to 14 days after being exposed. Public Health recommends people who were in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 stay home for 14 days so if they develop symptoms, they don’t get others sick.
Close contacts should stay home (quarantine) and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. People in quarantine should not go to work, school, child care or church, or participate in other social or community activities.
People who live or work in a high-priority setting should quarantine for the full 14-day period, due to the increased risk for a potential outbreak in congregate settings. High-priority settings include long-term care facilities, health care facilities, food processing facilities, the jail, schools and child care facilities.
People who are in quarantine and do not live or work in a high-priority setting may shorten their quarantine in the following circumstances:
- If a person who is in quarantine has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 10.
- If a person who is in quarantine receives a negative COVID-19 test and has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 7. The person must be tested on or after Day 5, and quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than Day 8. Even if a negative test is received before Day 8, the quarantine period should still be a full seven days.
There is a small chance that people who choose to shorten their quarantine period may transmit the infection to others post-quarantine. Anyone who has been in quarantine should continue to monitor their symptoms and wear a face covering around others through Day 14. If they develop symptoms, they should isolate themselves immediately to avoid infecting others and seek testing for COVID-19.
See the handout, What to do if you were potentially exposed to someone with COVID-19, for additional information.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has additional information about quarantine.
WA Notify
Washington state has launched a new anonymous exposure notification tool on your cell phone called WA Notify.
When voluntarily activated, phones with WA Notify use Bluetooth technology to exchange random codes with the phones of other users they are near. It does this without revealing a user’s identity or location.
The tool will alert users who spent time near another user who tests positive for COVID-19, but it won’t provide any details about the person’s identity or location, nor will it tell the user who tested positive anything about those who were exposed.
Visit the WA Notify website to learn more.
COVID-19 data
Clark County COVID-19 data on cases, deaths and hospital capacity. LEARN MORE>
COVID-19 cases in schools
Data on COVID-19 confirmed cases in Clark County public and private K-12 schools. Updated weekly. LEARN MORE>
COVID-19 testing
Information about COVID-19 testing locations in Clark County. LEARN MORE>
COVID-19 recommendations
Information about staying healthy, face coverings, symptoms and testing. LEARN MORE>
COVID-19 vaccine
Information about COVID-19 planning, allocation and distribution. LEARN MORE>
COVID-19 resources
Additional COVID-19 resources for parents and caregivers, businesses, food establishments, community facilities, and more. LEARN MORE>
Healthy Washington
On Jan. 5, 2021, Gov. Inslee announced a new phased COVID-19 reopening plan called Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery.
The new reopening plan went into effect Jan. 11. Under the plan, the state is divided into eight regions, and all regions began in Phase 1. Clark is joined by Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties to form the Southwest Region. The Southwest Region moves into Phase 2 on Sunday, Feb. 14.
Regions advance to Phase 2 when they meet metrics set by the Washington State Department of Health. The metrics are related to COVID-19 rate and hospitalization trends, hospital ICU occupancy and COVID-19 test positivity. The state will calculate the metrics for each region every other Friday and publish that information on the state's COVID-19 Risk Assessment Dashboard. The data for the Southwest Region is also posted on our COVID-19 data webpage.
Regions must continue to meet metrics to remain in Phase 2. Regions that do not meet the required metrics will be moved back to Phase 1.
Additional information about the Healthy Washington plan, including the metrics for advancing to and remaining in Phase 2 and business restrictions, are available on the governor's website.
Businesses approved to reopen must follow industry-specific guidance issued by the governor. Businesses, nonprofits and workers with questions about the plan for returning to work, safety guidelines for your business or industry, or financial assistance can submit an inquiry to the state.
Additional resources for businesses and employers are available on the COVID-19 resources page.