3 new COVID-19 cases in Thurston County Tuesday
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services on Tuesday announced three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents, bringing its total to 1,143 cases since the pandemic began.
The newest cases are in a man in his 40s, a woman in her 50s, and a woman in her 90s. No new deaths were announced; so far, a total at 16 county residents have died as a result of the disease.
The number of residents who have been hospitalized at some point in their illness increased by one on Tuesday to 82, and the number of people who are considered “recovered” or “recovering” increased by 10 to 957, county data show.
A person is reported as “recovered” or “recovering” if they aren’t hospitalized and have been released from public health-ordered isolation according to the county. They could still have ongoing health problems as a result of COVID-19.
The latest in-depth data
According to the most recent in-depth data report, which covers the time period of March 11 through Sunday, Sept. 20, 70 percent of county residents who have been hospitalized during their illness had an underlying health condition, and 81 percent of residents who have died had an underlying condition.
The data report also shows that county residents who identify as Black and Hispanic continue to be over-represented among COVID-19 cases when compared to the county’s total population.
While 3 percent of the population identifies as Black or African American, 7 percent of residents who’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19 identify as Black or African American. And while 9 percent of county residents identify as Hispanic, 30 percent of residents diagnosed with COVID-19 identify as Hispanic, the county report shows.
Race is unknown for 27 percent of diagnosed residents, and ethnicity was unknown for 31 percent of diagnosed residents as of Sept. 13, according to the report.
The report shows two ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in the county, one at a nursing facility and one at an adult family home. However, Magen Johnson, Thurston County Public Health’s COVID-19 spokesperson, told The Olympian the department closed the outbreak at the nursing facility Tuesday.
The nursing facility outbreak included just one staff person who had tested positive as of Sept. 18, according to the report.
The ongoing adult family home outbreak has so far included five residents and 15 staff who have tested positive, according to Tuesday’s report. There’s been one death attributed to that outbreak.
Health Officer foreshadowed Wednesday’s schools announcement
Two weeks have passed since Labor Day weekend without a spike in local cases.
Last week, Thurston County Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek said at a county commission work session that a rise in cases from Fourth of July gatherings led to her decision in July when she urged district superintendents to keep school buildings closed to in-person learning for the fall term.
She had been getting a lot of questions about schools reopening for in-person instruction, she said, and planned to wait a full 14-day incubation period after Labor Day to judge the county’s trajectory into fall. That time period has now lapsed.
“We haven’t seen a significant increase in our case rate,” Abdelmalek said at a commission work session Tuesday. “And we are at the two-week mark from when Labor Day weekend ended, so that’s a very good sign.”
Wednesday morning, Abdelmalek announced she is now recommending local schools gradually resume in-person learning while prioritizing high-need students.
In the region
▪ Pierce County confirmed 43 cases on Tuesday, giving the county 7,516 total. It announced two new deaths, bringing its total to 166. The two residents who died were a woman in her 70s from Puyallup with underlying health conditions and a man in his 60s from Puyallup with no known underlying health conditions.
▪ Lewis County reported 12 new confirmed cases, for a total of 488. Four Lewis County residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
▪ Mason County reported three new confirmed cases Tuesday, for a total of 404 residents diagnosed. Three residents have died due to COVID-19.
▪ Grays Harbor County, as of Monday night, had 453 cases and six deaths.
Across the state, nation and world
Washington state had reported 82,548 cases as of Tuesday with 2,037 deaths, according to the state Department of Health.
In the U.S., about 6.9 million cases and more than 201,000 deaths had been reported as of Wednesday, Johns Hopkins University data show.
Washington state ranks 23rd in the nation for the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19.
Globally, more than 31.7 million cases had been reported and about 973,000 people had died as of Wednesday, the data show.
This story was updated after Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek made her announcement Wednesday that schools may slowly reopen to in-person classes.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 5:34 PM.
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