6 Thurston County ZIP codes saw increases in number of COVID-19 cases last week
Six ZIP codes in Thurston County saw increases in the number of residents who had confirmed cases of COVID-19 last week, according to the county’s latest data.
The county’s weekly report includes data from March 9, when the first case in a Thurston County resident was identified, through May 3, when the county had 112 cases.
As of last week, at least one resident in every ZIP code in the county had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Previously, two Lacey ZIP codes — 98513 and 98503 — were hardest hit within the county. The latest report added 98501, which includes downtown Olympia, part of Olympia’s east side, and Tumwater, to that shortlist of areas that have seen 15+ cases.
In total, according to the report, six ZIP codes saw new cases last week: 98501, 98502, 98506, 98513, 98516, and 98576. The counties with the lowest number of cases are in south county, in ZIP codes 98531, 98589, and 98576, all of which have seen between one and four cases.
On Tuesday, Thurston County Public Health & Social Services announced one new confirmed case of the disease, bringing the county’s total to 114. The latest case is in a woman in her 60s.
Of the 114 cases, one person has died and 107 are considered “recovered” or “recovering,” up from 104 on Monday. That means just six cases are actively being monitored by county public health.
Eighteen Thurston County residents with confirmed cases have been admitted to a hospital at some point during the course of their illness, 72% of whom have underlying health conditions, according to county data. The one person who has died, a man in his 80s, also had underlying health conditions.
In a Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, county Public Health Director Schelli Slaughter said just one resident with COVID-19 was currently in the hospital.
With the state entering Phase 1 of a four-phase plan to reopen the economy, Interim Health Officer Dr. Diana Yu wrote in a letter to the community Tuesday that residents still need to maintain “community standards:”
- Maintain at least 6 feet distance from others (except household members).
- Wear a face covering, if not medically contraindicated, when you are out in public or cannot avoid being less than 6 feet from someone.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes.
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer as part of your routine.
- Stay home when you are ill and stay away from anyone else who is ill.
The county is working on increasing access to testing, Yu wrote. It currently recommends testing for anyone with symptoms and does not yet recommend testing for people without symptoms. Symptoms are a new cough or shortness of breath plus at least two of the following: fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell.
As of May 3, 2% of 5,342 tests of county residents had come back positive.
Elsewhere in the region:
- Pierce County cases increased by 24 with two new deaths Tuesday. The two deaths were in a Tacoma woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions and a man in his 70s from the Edgewood/Fife/Milton area, also with underlying health conditions. The county learned that some cases that were previously reported were duplicates or assigned to another county, according to the local health department’s daily update. The total there is now 1,552 cases with 54 deaths.
- Mason County had not reported any new confirmed positive cases as of Tuesday afternoon, leaving its total at 26 cases with one death.
- Lewis County has not reported any new cases or deaths since April 29, when its total was 29 cases with three deaths.
- Grays Harbor County was still reporting 12 confirmed cases.
ACROSS THE STATE, NATION, AND WORLD
Washington state had reported more than 15,590 cases and 862 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the state Department of Health.
In the U.S., more than 1.2 million cases had been reported as of Tuesday, Johns Hopkins University data show, with more than 71,000 deaths. Fourteen states have reported more than 1,000 deaths officially attributed to COVID-19; New York state has the most with more than 24,000 deaths.
Globally, more than 3.66 million cases have been confirmed and more than 256,000 people have died from the disease.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 5:17 PM.
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