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Dashboard Dashboard Interpretation Wastewater Surveillance Technical Notes Understanding Respiratory Illnesses

For Healthcare Providers: Dashboard Interpretation

The Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard presents COVID-19, influenza and RSV surveillance data for Spokane County. This dashboard serves to:

  1. Promote awareness of respiratory illness activity Spokane County
  2. Mark the onset of respiratory illness season
  3. Assist the healthcare provider community in infection control policy decision making

An overview of the dashboard and interpretation guidance is outlined here. The dashboard is updated weekly.

Overview

Weekly percentages of emergency department (ED) visits with a COVID-19, influenza or RSV diagnosis are posted on the Season Overview tab, along with the epidemic threshold for each disease. View the percent ED activity for any season by hovering over any point in the line chart. The dashboard also includes separate tabs for hospitalizations, mortality and long-term care outbreaks, and wastewater surveillance data.

Determination of Elevated Respiratory Illness Activity and Response

Elevated respiratory illness activity warrants the consideration of additional infection prevention measures in the healthcare community. This occurs when one or more of the following thresholds are met:

  • At least one pathogen (COVID-19, influenza or RSV) reaches or exceeds the epidemic threshold (epidemic level) for emergency department visits (ED discharge diagnoses) in the Spokane Respiratory Illness Data Dashboard. Epidemic levels of percentage of weekly ER visits for COVID-19, influenza and RSV in Spokane County are 3.7 % for COVID-19, 0.8% for influenza, and 0.3% for RSV. Threshold levels can be viewed in the dashboard’s Weekly Emergency Department Visits section.
  • CDC COVID-19 Hospital Admission Levels are “medium” or >10 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population (seven-day total) by county.
    Visit the CDC COVID Data Tracker COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Deaths, Emergency Department (ED) Visits, and Test Positivity by Geographic Area page.

When one of the above thresholds is met, SRHD encourages healthcare facilities and providers to strongly consider universal masking in patient care areas, at the discretion of the individual healthcare facility’s respiratory illness infection control policy. As an example, many healthcare providers in Washington state keep universal masking in effect until:

  • ED visits for all three pathogens are below their respective epidemic thresholds, and
  • CDC COVID-19 hospital admission levels are below “medium” for at least two weeks.