PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - The number of coronavirus cases in Whitman County has nearly tripled in the past week, one of the highest growth rates in the nation.
The county is home to Washington State University, and students have been pouring into Pullman in the past week for the start of the school year.
The Spokesman-Review reports the county’s COVID-19 case count rose to 422 on Saturday.
The county said in a press release that of the 58 new positive cases reported in the county Saturday, 22 were in people 19 or younger and 36 were in people age 20 to 39.
Pullman ranks fifth in the United States for metro areas where new cases are rising the fastest, on a population-adjusted basis, according to a New York Times case tracker. The Times reported Pullman had only 14 new confirmed cases of the virus last week and 222 this week.
Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins recently announced that officers will be immediately issuing tickets for violations of Gov. Jay Inslee’s pandemic restrictions. Police had been giving warnings prior to this week.
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