Thurston breaks COVID-19 record with 62 new cases Tuesday
Thurston County reported a record 62 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, but no new deaths as cases continued to rise.
The previous record was 47 new cases on Oct. 16, the health department reported. The county now has 2,183 total cases with 1,648 having recovered or recovering, according to health department data.
Of the total, 158 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, an increase of 18 from Monday. In all, 39 people have died, including three in the past seven days.
The state also reported Thurston County passed the 100 cases per 100,000 over two weeks threshold with a rate of 101.5 Tuesday. Thurston County Public Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek predicted that development during a county board of commissioners meeting earlier Tuesday morning, saying transmission rates continue to rise.
“This increase in transmission is in part due to some of the outbreaks in our county,” Abdelmalek said. “However, our long-term care facilities don’t exist in a vacuum ... so a lot of what we’re seeing in our numbers this week is just community spread rather than just focused within facilities, which makes this a bit more concerning.”
As of Tuesday, there are 11 ongoing outbreaks in congregate care settings such as nursing homes, child care centers, schools, shelters, and jails, according to numbers reported by the county. To date, there have been a total of 21 such outbreaks.
Tuesday’s cases include seven people 9 or younger, four between 10 and 19, 12 people in their 20s, 10 in their 30s, nine in their 40s, nine in their 50s, five in their 60s, four in their 70s, and two in their 80s.
Hospital capacity
Thurston County is starting to see some strain on its hospital capacity due to the significant increase in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Abdelmalek said Tuesday.
“That hospital capacity is critical in our ability to care for folks who become severely ill from the disease, we are ramping up our public health capacity to meet this challenge as well,” Abdelmalek said.
The state reported Tuesday that patients occupied 76.4% of licensed beds as of Monday, which is edging toward exceeding the goal of having less than 80% of beds occupied.
Abdelmalek cited hospital capacity and community transmission levels as key factors in deciding whether schools should open to more in-person learning. On Nov. 6, Abdelmalek recommended schools return to remote learning until January, with exceptions for small cohorts of students with the highest need.
Local hospitals have surge plans at the ready if needed, said department director Schelli Slaughter, and hospitals are coordinating across the state to ensure patients have a bed to go to.
“I’m confident in our local hospitals that they have good plans in place for that,” Slaughter said.
Abdelmalek also said in a letter to the community Tuesday that she felt concerned cases will rise as the weather gets colder and more people congregate indoors. The flu season may also stress the county’s response, she added.
“The winter will likely bring more challenges as we combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but I am sure working together we can slow the spread of COVID-19 and start taking steps toward a safe return to public life,” Abdelmalek wrote.
In the region
▪ The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department on Tuesday announced 156 new cases and one new deaths, a man in his 40s from Puyallup. In all, there have now been 11,641 cases and 204 deaths.
▪ Lewis County reported three new cases Tuesday. The county’s total now stands at 784 cases and 12 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County added nine cases on Monday, giving the county 817 cases with 15 deaths. The county reported 55 cases as “active.”
▪ Mason County reported 10 additional cases on Tuesday for a total of 632 with 10 deaths.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health on Tuesday reported 1,441 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 new deaths, giving the state 120,011 cases and 2,482 deaths.
Transmission rates are accelerating across the entire state, coinciding with increased case counts and hospitalizations, according to the latest activity report from the state Department of Health.
The report found Western Washington had a reproductive number of about 1.29 while Eastern Washington had a reproductive number of about 1.36. Additionally, the report found hospitalizations are likely to continue rising in Western Washington even if cases plateau because patients may stay in hospitals for several weeks.
“I am extremely concerned about what seems to be an accelerating trend in the spread of COVID-19. Immediate action is needed from all of us to avoid new restrictions and prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.” said State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy in a news release. “This situation is extraordinarily urgent, and we’re running out of time to change direction.”
The U.S. had 10.24 million total cases and more than 239,000 deaths as of Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, 51.4 million cases had been reported and 1.27 million people had died as of Tuesday, according to the data.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 6:08 PM.
