Six more die due to COVID-19 in Thurston County as case count breaks record again
Thurston County confirmed six more people died from COVID-19 as it logged a record 3,632 cases from Jan. 3-9 — more than 1,500 more cases than the week before.
Four men died due to COVID-19: one in his 50s, one in his 60s and two in their 70s. Two women died: one in her 50s and another in her 90s.
There have been 30,274 confirmed cases and 258 deaths in the county from March 2020 to Sunday, according to Public Health and Social Services. The county has about 295,000 residents.
PHSS considered 24,516 cases recovered or recovering on Monday — meaning 5,835 cases remained active.
Last week, the county reported 2,126 cases and no new deaths.
Case counts have risen as the more transmissible Omicron variant spread and people gathered for the holidays.
About 95.4% of recorded new cases across the United States were caused by Omicron from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first reported cases in the United States were identified in early December.
State data for Thurston County indicates its disease transmission rate reached an alarming 1,353.3 per 100,000 people from Dec. 19 to Jan. 1. During the first two weeks of December, the county had a case rate of 284.9.
The previous record high case rate in the county was 523 from Aug. 19 to Sept. 1, the data show.
The county reports it is responding to 39 ongoing outbreaks at congregate care settings. As of Sunday, there have been 143 such outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic.
At school settings, PHSS data indicates there were no closures due to outbreaks from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. However, the previous week saw 12 closures.
Since the start of the pandemic, the data show 1,608 people with COVID-19 have been hospitalized at some point. Last week, the county noted 19 people had been hospitalized.
The state reports the county had a record high hospitalization rate of 20.6 per 100,000 people between Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.
Hospitalizations have been rising since the start of December when the state detected its first Omicron cases. The county’s previous record was 19.9 between Aug. 20-26.
As of Sunday, about 93.4% of ICU beds over a seven-day period were occupied in the West region, which includes Thurston County and some of its neighbors. The data show 45.9% of ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in the region.
Hospitals in the region were 91.4% full over a seven-day period as of Sunday, per the data, while COVID-19 patients accounted for 26.4%.
From February to November, state data show 73.8% of cases (10,408) in Thurston County were in unvaccinated individuals. Meanwhile, 21.4% of cases (3,017) were in fully vaccinated individuals, per state data.
Across the state, those who were unvaccinated accounted for 75.4% (3,539) of all 12 and older COVID-19 deaths from Feb. 1 to Dec. 7. Those partially vaccinated made up 5.3% (251) of deaths and those fully vaccinated made up 19.3% (905) of deaths, the data show.
PHSS does not share the vaccination status of those who die due to COVID-19 in Thurston County because they do not have access to that data, a county spokesperson previously said.
Vaccinations and tests
Just 60.9% of all Thurston residents were fully vaccinated as of Saturday, and 66.8% had initiated vaccinations, per state data.
Meanwhile, the data show 77.8% of Thurston County residents 12 and older have initiated vaccinations and 70.9% had been fully vaccinated as of Jan. 5.
As of Jan. 3, 77.6% of the state population 5 and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 70.6% had been fully vaccinated. This percentage includes aggregate data from the Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs, both of which are not entirely reflected in the state’s data dashboard.
The state reports 81,081 people (about 27%) in Thurston County have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Across the state, just over 2 million people have gotten a booster.
Thurston County PHSS continues to offer free vaccination events, including for booster shots, every week. Events are listed on their coronavirus vaccine information website.
Eligible residents can find appointments at local providers such as pharmacies by visiting the state’s Vaccine Locator website. Many supermarket pharmacies are taking walk-ins for vaccines.
Those who have difficulty scheduling appointments online can call the Department of Health vaccine hotline at 888-856-5816 or the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services line at 360-867-2610. Information for Spanish speakers is available at these numbers as well.
Residents can get tested at the Thurston County Fairgrounds on weekdays through at least Jan. 14. PHSS set up the drive-through mass testing site last week in response to the surge in disease activity.
PHSS staff can test 300 people a day at the site and about 1,200 people had been tested as of Tuesday, according to county spokesperson Magen Johnson. Residents can expect results within 48-72 hours via their preferred means, she added.
“We are evaluating the testing needs and staffing availability and will determine later this week if the fairgrounds testing site will continue to remain open after January 14,” Johnson said.
The site has reached capacity hours before its closing time each day, according to Johnson. PHSS recommends residents follow its social media accounts for updates on closures.
“We are seeing a large number of people arrive at the clinic hours before it is open, and we encourage residents to arrive when the clinic is actually scheduled to open, not beforehand,” Johnson said.
There have been no updates to COVID-19 testing data since Sept. 15. PHSS says the state Department of Health paused this data release to increase capacity so it can process an increasing number of tests.
PHSS offers testing at various locations throughout the county, but this is limited to people with symptoms or who may have been exposed by a close contact.
People also can get tested at pharmacies such as Rite Aid and Walgreens but availability may be limited due to increased demand. Over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen tests are available at pharmacies, but supplies often run out.
IN THE REGION
- Pierce County had confirmed 112,518 total COVID-19 cases with 977 deaths as of Jan. 4. Pierce County has a population of about 927,000.
- Grays Harbor County has seen a total of 11,304 confirmed and probable cases, with 157 deaths as of Sunday, according to state data. Grays Harbor County has a population of about 75,000.
- Lewis County has had a total of 12,760 confirmed and probable cases with 194 deaths as of Sunday, per state data. Lewis County has a population of almost 83,000.
- Mason County has reported 6,488 confirmed cases with 88 deaths as of Monday. Mason County has a population of about 69,000.
IN THE STATE, NATION AND WORLD
The state of Washington has reported a total of 978,680 COVID-19 cases and 10,028 deaths from the beginning of the pandemic to Monday.
In the U.S., about 61.4 million COVID-19 cases had been reported as of Monday with over 839,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The U.S. population is about 330 million.
Globally, more than 309.9 million people had contracted the virus and over 5.4 million people had died of COVID-19 as of Monday, the data show.
