2 COVID-19 deaths in Thurston announced Tuesday, with 20 new positive cases

Two more Thurston County residents have died of COVID-19 and 20 more people have tested positive for the virus, county health officials reported Tuesday.

That brings the county’s overall case total to 699 with 10 reported deaths.

One of the people who died was a man in his 40s who did not have underlying conditions, according to Thurston County spokesperson Magen Johnson. The man is the youngest person to die from COVID-19 in Thurston County so far and the only one who did not have preexisting health conditions.

The second person who died was a woman in her 70s who had underlying health conditions.

After the two deaths announced Tuesday, two deaths last week and one death during the week of July 21, Thurston County has had a total of 10 residents die of COVID-19.

Data from Thurston County Public Health and Social Services, which was collected from noon Monday to 11:59 a.m. Tuesday, show the county residents who tested positive are:

• Two boys under age 10;
• A girl between the ages of 10 and 19 years old;
• A man and woman in their 20s;
• A woman in her 30s;
• Three men and three women in their 40s;
• Four men in their 50s; and
• A man and three women in their 60s.

Of the 699 cases in Thurston County, and following recent data reviews, the number of patients who are considered “recovered” or “recovering” is 536.

Other data reviews by the county’s infectious disease team revealed that over the course of the pandemic, 56 people have been hospitalized at one point for disease treatment in Thurston County. According to the county website, only one person has been hospitalized in the past seven days.

Updated ZIP code map

Thurston County released its Weekly Update which covers how COVID-19 has affected the county over the past week. The update shows where COVID-19 cases are located in the county by ZIP code and breaks down the demographics of those who test positive in the county.

County health officials say the county is experiencing “community spread” — meaning the origins of some residents’ infections cannot be traced to a location or a date.

From July 26 to Aug. 2, all but one county ZIP code had increases in COVID-19 cases. The increases break down like so:

• 98501 rose to 95 cases;
• 98502 rose to 60 cases;
• 98503 rose to 83 cases;
• 98506 rose to 28 cases;
• 98512 rose to 81 cases;
• 98513 rose to 95 cases;
• 98516 rose to 79 cases;
• 98576 rose to 18 cases;
• 98579 rose to 36 cases;
• 98589 rose to 20 cases; and
• 98597 rose to 50 cases.

The only ZIP code that did not have a rise in cases over the past week was 98531.

Other important take-aways from the Weekly Update were:

• During the first three months of the pandemic (March-May), 154 Thurston County residents tested positive for COVID-19. In June, 109 people tested positive and, in July, 386 people tested positive.
• Of the 23,266 total COVID-19 tests performed in the county, 2.8 percent came back positive. From July 26 to Aug. 2, 1,348 tests were performed and 4.1 percent came back positive.
• Black and Hispanic residents are still over-represented in the number of COVID-19 cases in the county. Black residents make up 3 percent of Thurston County’s population but 8 percent of cases. People who identify as Hispanic make up 9 percent of Thurston County’s population but 23 percent of cases.

In the region

• Pierce County reported 80 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths on Tuesday. 5,229 people have tested positive for the disease in the county and 119 have died from it.
• Lewis County has yet to report any new cases for Tuesday, August 4. 198 people have tested positive for the disease in the county and three have died from it.
• Mason County announced 11 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the county’s overall case total to 196. So far, only one resident of the county has died after contracting the disease.
• Grays Harbor County has been reporting 95 cases with one death.

Around the state, nation and globe

• Washington State’s Department of Health is reporting 58,715 cases of COVID-19 and 1,600 deaths stemming from it.
• In the U.S., more than 4.7 million people have tested positive for the disease and 156,667 people have died from it, data from Johns Hopkins University show.
• Globally, over 18.4 million cases and 697,998 deaths have been reported.

This story was originally published August 4, 2020 at 5:05 PM.