Massive spike in COVID-19 cases as Thurston adds 47 more on Friday
Update: The headline of this article previously misstated the number of number cases Friday as 46. It is actually 47. The Olympian regrets the error.
Thurston County announced a whopping 47 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest one-day total recorded since the pandemic began.
More than half of the cases — 28 — are associated with an outbreak at Garden Courte Memory Care, an assisted living facility on Lilly Road in Olympia.
The outbreak began earlier this month, and so far 36 residents and 13 staff members have tested positive, according to a statement from Thurston County Public Health and Social Services COVID-19 spokesperson Magen Johnson. One resident of the facility died earlier this week, a woman in her 90s.
The county is awaiting more test results that will come back next week, according to the statement.
“Transmission of COVID-19 is on the rise here in Thurston County and this record number of cases serves as an important reminder to everyone to take this virus seriously and do your part to protect others, especially our most vulnerable community members,” wrote health department director Schelli Slaughter in an emailed statement. “We urge everyone to please stay home and do not go to work or other public places when feeling ill with even one symptom.”
The county now has had a total of 1,555 cases. Of those, 1,171 people have recovered or are recovering, 105 have been hospitalized at some point in their illness, and 21 have died, according to county data.
There are six ongoing congregate care center outbreaks, including the one at Garden Courte.
In the region
▪ Pierce County added 72 cases Friday and one more person has died, a woman from Tacoma with underlying health conditions. The county now has a total of 8,928 cases and 183 deaths.
▪ Lewis County reported one new case on Friday for a total of 655 cases and 10 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County announced 10 new cases on Thursday for a total of 628 with 11 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported four new cases on Thursday for a total of 522 with eight deaths.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health reported 676 new cases and 11 new deaths on Friday for a total of 96,894 cases and 2,239 deaths.
In the U.S., more than 8 million cases had been reported and more than 218,000 people had died as of Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, more than 39.2 million cases have been reported and more than 1.1 million people have died as of Friday, the data show.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 5:36 PM.
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