August 18, 2022 3:50 a.m.

COVID-19 cases in Douglas County have dropped by 32 percent in the last week.

An update from the Douglas Public Health Network said there were 154 new cases in the seven-day period ending Wednesday. That compares with 227 cases reported the previous week.

Vanessa Becker of DPHN said 15 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Wednesday, with a range of between 13 and 18 hospitalized per day in the last week. Becker said typically less than 10 percent of those hospitalized are vaccinated and up to date.

There was 1 new death related to COVID-19 as well. Becker said that person was not vaccinated. Since the pandemic begin in January of 2020, 421 local residents have died related to COVID-19. 23,424 cases of the virus have been reported.

Go to www.douglaspublichealthnetwork.org for more local information about COVID-19.