Thurston County confirms COVID-19 outbreak at jail, 16 new cases across county
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services has confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 at the county jail, saying six of 16 new cases announced countywide Thursday were part of an initial batch of test results from the facility.
One case was reported at the jail Monday, which prompted the department to deploy a testing strike team to test all inmates and staff Tuesday, The Olympian previously reported.
In all, the team tested about 300 people there, according to a county news release, and quarantined anyone who had close contact with the inmate who initially tested positive. That inmate was released from the jail Monday and is in isolation, the release says.
Public Health Director Schelli Slaughter previously told The Olympian she believed the inmate was staying at the county’s isolation and quarantine facility; however, a county public health spokesperson did not confirm that and said the county does not release information on an individual’s location.
All inmates who tested positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate from the general population, according to the county.
Spokesperson Magen Johnson said she could not confirm whether the initial case was discovered in one of the jail’s open-concept dormitories, where many inmates live in close quarters with one another. Multiple sources, including two inmates, have told The Olympian the case was discovered in a dorm referred to as “G Dorm.”
The county is not sharing whether the six latest cases at the jail are in inmates or staff nor which of the cases announced were related to the outbreak.
In separate phone calls with The Olympian Thursday, inmates Jeremy Allen and Dennis Sleeper said five inmates who had been housed in G Dorm were removed because they tested positive. Both inmates previously told The Olympian that public health-recommended precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were not being taken in the dorm before the first case was discovered.
According to Thursday’s press release, Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek now “has required all staff and inmates to follow COVID-19 health and safety protocols including wearing masks at all times, maintaining physical distancing wherever possible, and increasing sanitation measures.”
Inmates and employees will have their temperature and symptoms checked twice daily, it says.
All staff had masks prior to this, Sheriff’s Lt. Ray Brady told The Olympian, but wearing them had been optional where social distancing was possible and outside of specific areas, such as the intake area, areas where inmates were isolated to be monitored for symptoms after intake, the medical area, and the kitchen area.
Brady confirmed that, as of Monday, inmates were given one mask per person to use indefinitely. He said that will change, and that the Sheriff’s Office is actively working with county Emergency Management to acquire more masks.
In the press release, Slaughter said the department expects to receive more test results in the coming days and plans to retest all inmates and employees next week.
“The facility will be closely monitored for the next 28 days,” Slaughter said in the release. “We are working collaboratively with the Sheriff’s Office to protect the health and safety of all staff and inmates, prevent further spread of COVID-19, and contain this outbreak as quickly as possible.”
The situation is now officially considered an “outbreak,” which is defined as “two ore more confirmed or probable cases with symptom onset dates within 14 days of each other in a shared location,” according to the county.
The county is currently dealing with six other outbreaks: two adult family homes, an adult group home, two long-term care facilities, and another congregate care setting about which that the county has not shared any specific information.
The latest 16 Thurston County residents to be diagnosed are:
Two girls and a boy ages 9 years old or younger;
A boy between ages 10 and 19;
Two men in their 20s;
Two men in their 30s;
Two men in their 40s;
A man in his 50s;
Three men in their 60s; and
A man and woman in their 70s.
The county’s total is now 899 cases since the first resident was diagnosed March 11, and 11 COVID-19 patients have died. Of the total number of cases, 59 people have been hospitalized at some point in their illness and 670 are considered “recovered” or “recovering” by the Public Health department, though they may still experience ongoing health problems due to the illness.
In the region
Pierce County confirmed 61 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and three new deaths, bringing its totals to 6,246 cases and 138 deaths. The latest county residents to die were: a man in his 60s from South Pierce County with no known underlying health conditions, a man in his 70s from Puyallup with underlying health conditions, and a woman in her 90s from Puyallup with underlying health conditions.
Lewis County reported 13 more residents tested positive for the disease. Four of the latest residents to be diagnosed are under age 20, one is in their 20s, three are in their 30s, four are in their 40s, and one is in their 50s. The county’s total is now 309 with four deaths.
Mason County announced two new cases Thursday, bringing the county’s case total to 293 with one death and 51 cases considered active.
Grays Harbor County reported 15 new cases and two new deaths. Its totals are now 168 cases and five deaths. Grays Harbor Public Health considers 41 cases to be active.
Around the state, nation and world
Washington state’s Department of Health reported 69,389 cases total on Friday, with 1,837 deaths statewide.
More than 5.6 million people had tested positive for the disease in the U.S., and nearly 175,000 people had died from it as of Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, 22.8 million people had been diagnosed with the disease as of Friday and more than 795,000 people had died from it.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 7:44 PM.
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