5 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Thurston County

Thurston County reported five new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the county’s total to 179 confirmed cases since the first case was announced on March 11.

The new cases are two women in their 80s, one in her 90s, one man in his 90s and another in his 70s. County spokesperson Meghan Porter was able to confirm that three of the new cases were linked to recent outbreaks in two Thurston County long-term care facilities that also have lead to the deaths of three Thurston County residents. All of the patients who died had underlying conditions and were over 65.

While 179 people in Thurston County have at one point been infected with the airborne respiratory disease, 143 of them are considered to be “recovering” or “recovered,” according to data published by Thurston County. To be considered recovered, a person with COVID-19 has to have been released from public health isolation.

Currently, 33 cases are active and being monitored by the county.

A closer look at the data

Thurston County released its weekly COVID-19 diagnosis report on Tuesday, which has all COVID-19 diagnosis data recorded up to June 7. The data reveals the bulk of cases are in the 98513, 98503, 98501 and 98512 zip codes, which creates a belt around Thurston County, stretching from Nisqually and the border of Pierce County to unincorporated Tumwater and Capitol Forest.

The data also shows black and Hispanic residents are being infected with the disease at disproportionate rates. Black people account for roughly 3 percent of the county’s population, but account for 11 percent of county cases. Hispanic people make up 9 percent of county residents, but 19 percent of cases. White people make up 82 percent of the county and 83 percent of cases.

In the region

▪ Pierce County reported seven new cases Wednesday, bringing its total to 2,078 cases with 82 deaths.

▪ Lewis County has not reported a new case since June 1, leaving its count at 37 with three deaths.

▪ Mason County has had a total of 38 COVID-19 cases.

▪ Grays Harbor County is reporting 19 cases.

Around the state, nation and world

In Washington state, 24,354 COVID-19 cases had been reported as of Wednesday, with 1,176 related deaths, according to data from the Washington State Department of Health.

The United States surpassed 2 million confirmed cases as of Wednesday, with nearly 113,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Globally, nearly 7.4 million people have been confirmed to have COVID-19, and more than 416,000 people have died as a result of it.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 8:56 PM.