OLYMPIA, Washington – Washington state has recorded an average of 1,500 new cases per day of COVID-19 over the past four days, and health officials said on Tuesday they were worried not only about a increase in cases, but also hospitalizations due to the highly contagious delta. variant.

The Department of Health (DOH) said hospital occupancy rates are at the highest levels seen so far this year, with more than 600 people hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of more than 20% compared to last week.

The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests also climbed rapidly to 5.5%, from a low of 2% a month ago, according to the DOH.

“The highly contagious delta variant, which is a more transmissible strain of the virus, is the dominant strain in Washington, accounting for about 76% of sequenced cases,” the DOH said in a press release.

Authorities say more than 94% of all recent cases, deaths and hospitalizations among Washingtonians aged 12 and older involve people who have not been fully vaccinated.

“Higher vaccination rates statewide are needed to protect our communities,” Health Secretary Dr Umair Shah said. “If there was ever a time to get vaccinated, it is now in the race against this variant. “

As of August 2, 69.6% of the state’s population aged 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the DOH.