— Snohomish County health officials are telling the public to prepare for a long, difficult battle with coronavirus as the number of new cases continues to surge.

It's not going to be over soon," said county health officer, Dr.

At the start of June, just before Washington started reopening, Snohomish County hit a low of about 20 cases per 100,000 residents.

The preferred number to be able to move on to Phase 3 is 25 cases per 100,000 residents.

"Workplaces are going to be the leading edge of transmission as people are heading back to work, so we have to expect cases are going to occur in the workplace," said Spitters.

Spitters said no one should expect to return to normal anytime soon