Thurston County adds 61 new COVID-19 cases and one new death Tuesday
One more Thurston County resident died of COVID-19 and 61 new cases were reported Tuesday as virus activity levels continue to rise.
The county now has 2,593 total cases, according to Thurston County Public Health and Social Services. Of that total, 1,749 people have recovered or are recovering, 158 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, and 41 have died.
Cases continue to rise amid concerning statewide trends that prompted Gov. Jay Inslee to implement new restrictions on indoor dining, gyms, and retail businesses through Dec. 14. In light of these trends, county health officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek said she expected transmission rates to increase in the coming days — a key factor in her decision to recommended distance learning at schools.
“I am concerned that we may be on the path toward exponential growth of the disease if we don’t all work together and do the things that we know that we need to do to stop the spread,” Abdelmalek said during a Tuesday morning county Board of Health meeting.
She said the test positivity rate has increased to a record high of 5.3%. The state is reporting similar rates: its Tuesday report said 5.8% of those tested in the state received a positive result.
The county recorded a new high of 389 cases the week starting Nov. 9. So far, the county has reported 106 cases in the first two days of this week.
There are also 11 ongoing outbreaks at undisclosed congregate care settings which can include nursing homes, schools, jails and more. In all, there have been 23 such outbreaks, according to county data.
Response to remote learning concerns
Abdelmalek spoke with the Board of Health Tuesday about her Nov. 6 recommendation that schools should revert to remote learning. Commissioner Gary Edwards last week asked for time to talk about schools after a number of parents pleaded with the county to allow schools to reopen.
Nearly 20 parents called for in-person learning to resume during a Nov. 10 Board of Health meeting. Many shared concerns about their children’s mental health and questioned the thought process behind Abdelmalek’s recommendation.
In her Nov. 6 recommendation, Abdelmalek cited increasingly elevated levels of COVID-19 activity. At the time, the data showed the county had 95.9 new cases per 100,000 people over 14 days. As of Tuesday, the state data shows the county has 142.4 cases per 100,000 over two weeks.
“We are in a phase of exponential growth of COVID-19,” Abdelmalek said. “This is how I as health officer am trying to balance the needs of the students in our community with the needs of their families and the needs of the all the folks that are working together to help facilitate learning.”
Abdelmalek shared the decision-tree that informed her recommendation during the Tuesday work session. The document strongly recommends distance learning with the option for limited in-person learning for small cohorts when COVID-19 activity levels are high, meaning there are more than 75 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days.
The decision tree recommends a careful transition to in-person learning if virus levels remain moderate between 25 to 75 cases per 100,000 people over 14 days, the document reads. Under this model, in-person learning would be encouraged if COVID-19 activity falls to levels below 25 cases per 100,000 over 14 days.
Edwards questioned Abdelmalek’s recommendation, saying he wants to balance the needs of students, their families and the economy.
“I really think the detrimental effect this is having on our young people might outweigh any potential problem that we as a society are going to receive from this by opening up,” Edwards said.
Edwards said he wanted students to return to school as quickly as possible and called for the Department of Health to study successful examples of private and public schools opening to in-person learning.
“I know we’re worried what’s the long-term effect should they come down with this, but I really think we’re all going to get this at some point in time and learn to live with it to a degree,” Edwards said.
Abdelmalek warned that COVID-19 is more lethal than the flu and there may be long-term health effects to consider. She added safety measures currently in place have helped lessen the impact of the virus so far.
Commissioner Tye Menser said it’s important to be mindful of long-term health effects and to not exceed hospital capacity. He said it’s important to consider the impact on the whole school apparatus.
“There’s a difference of opinion among older teachers, older staff, older parent educators about their safety and the safety of the environment.” Menser said.
Although the board of health or commissioners cannot unilaterally reopen or close schools, Menser said he appreciated the public comments they received on the matter and will continue monitoring the situation.
In the region
▪ Pierce County announced 258 cases and one new death on Tuesday, a man in his 70s from Lakewood. The county has now reported 13,345 cases and 213 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County added 8 new cases Tuesday, giving the county 875 total cases with 15 deaths.
▪ Lewis County reported 10 new cases and one new death on Tuesday. The county now has a total of 961 cases and 13 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported 6 additional cases on Tuesday for a total of 683 cases with 10 deaths.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health reported 2,589 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 23 deaths Tuesday. In all, the state has now reported 134,121 cases and 2,571 deaths.
In the United States, more than 11.4 million cases have been reported with nearly 250,000 deaths as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, more than 56 million cases had been reported and 1.35 million people had died as of Wednesday, the data show.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 6:21 PM.
