COVID-19 disease activity falls in Thurston County but CDC risk level rises. Here’s why
Thurston County’s COVID-19 disease activity has fallen in August so far, but community risk recently increased.
Public Health and Social Services reported 419 additional cases and no deaths for the week of Aug. 8-14. These numbers were lower than the 499 cases and two deaths reported the previous week.
In all, PHSS has confirmed 55,948 cases and 422 deaths from the start of the pandemic in March 2020 to Aug. 14. However, case numbers are undercounted due to the prevalence of at-home tests that are often not officially recorded.
The Washington state Department of Health continued to describe disease activity in Thurston County as “high,” the most severe rating.
However, the county’s case rate per 100,000 people has fallen from 258.8 between July 5-11 to 135.7 between Aug. 2-8, according to the state. If this trend continues, the county’s case rate may soon fall below 100, the state’s threshold for “high” activity.
As of Aug. 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Thurston County’s COVID-19 Community Level as “medium.” The week prior, the county had a “low” rating.
The CDC determines community levels by weighing new hospital admissions and inpatient bed data after considering cases per 100,000 in the past seven days.
The recent level change can be attributed to Thurston County’s number of new COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 people. On Aug. 11, the CDC determined there were 11 admissions between Aug. 4-10.
To be “low,” Thurston County would have needed less than 10 admissions, given its recent case rates. Over the past week, this data point has begun to trend down for Thurston County.
Thurston County shared the “medium” rating with most of its immediate neighbors, except Pierce County which was labeled “low.”
With a “medium” rating, the CDC recommends people wear masks if they experience symptoms, test positive or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. People also should wear masks on public transportation.
Those at high risk because of other health concerns are advised to consider additional precautions as well.
Hospitalizations
Hospitalization data showed modest improvements over the past week, according to CDC data.
There were about 7.7 hospital admissions per 100,000 Thurston County residents over a seven-day period ending on Monday, CDC data show. The previous week, the CDC reported 10.3 such admissions.
Around 6.6% of staffed in-patient beds were being used by patients with confirmed COVID-19 during that period, the data show. About 7.6% of these beds were reported occupied the previous week.
Over a seven-day period ending on Tuesday, state DOH data indicates about 77.2% of Intensive Care Unit beds were occupied in the West region, which includes Thurston County and some of its neighbors. The data show 11.7% of ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Hospitals in the region were 82.3% full over the seven-day period, while COVID-19 patients accounted for 9.5%.
PHSS recorded 20 COVID hospitalizations in Thurston County from Aug. 8-14. Since the start of the pandemic, county data show 2,716 COVID patients have been hospitalized at some point in their illness.
About 75% of county residents who were hospitalized had a known underlying condition, according to the Tuesday weekly report. But it’s possible some had an unknown underlying condition.
Among the people who have died, the report says 100% had a known underlying condition.
Outbreaks
PHSS had been investigating 35 ongoing outbreaks at congregate care settings. In all, there have been 265 such outbreaks — one more than the previous week.
The ongoing outbreaks included 10 adult family homes, 12 assisted living facilities, three congregate housing settings, one enhanced services facility, six nursing facilities and three supported living facilities.
Vaccines and testing
About 66.9% of all Thurston County residents have completed their primary series of vaccinations as of Monday.
The state also reported 58.2% of county residents 5 and older have received a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday.
Thurston County PHSS continues to offer free vaccination events, including for booster shots, every week. Upcoming events are listed on their coronavirus vaccine information website.
Anyone who tests at home can report their results to Washington’s COVID-19 hotline at 800-525-0127. Thurston County residents also can call PHSS at 360-867-2610.
Over-the-counter COVID-19 antigen tests are available at pharmacies and on-order for Washington residents from Say Yes! COVID Test and the federal government.
In the region
Pierce County has confirmed 215,852 total COVID-19 cases with 1,484 deaths as of Tuesday. Pierce County has a population of about 927,000. The CDC indicates Pierce County has a low COVID-19 community level.
Lewis County has had a total of 19,602 confirmed cases with 276 deaths as of Tuesday, state data shows. Lewis County has a population of almost 83,000. The CDC indicates Lewis County has a medium COVID-19 community level.
Grays Harbor County has seen a total of 18,916 cases with 212 deaths as of Tuesday, according to state data. Grays Harbor County has a population of about 75,000. The CDC indicates Grays Harbor County has a medium COVID-19 community level.
Mason County has reported 13,380 confirmed cases with 155 deaths as of Tuesday. Mason County has a population of about 69,000. The CDC indicates Mason County has a medium COVID-19 community level.
In the nation, state and world
The state of Washington has confirmed over 1.7 million COVID-19 cases and at least 13,739 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to Tuesday.
In the U.S., about 93.3 million COVID-19 cases had been reported as of Thursday with over 1 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The U.S. population is about 330 million.
Globally, more than 593.4 million people had contracted the virus and over 6.4 million people had died of COVID-19 as of Thursday, the data show.
