Thurston County adds fewer COVID-19 cases in August than July as virus activity falls
Thurston County confirmed far fewer COVID-19 cases in August than July and risk metrics showed improvement.
Public Health and Social Services reported 1,586 cases in August, nearly a 1,000 less than the 2,502 confirmed for July, according to the data.
For the week of Aug. 29 to Sept. 4, PHSS counted 241 additional cases and four deaths. The deaths included two women: one in her 60s and one in her 70s. Two men also died: one in his 50s and one in his 70s.
In all, PHSS has confirmed 56,758 cases and 426 deaths from the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Though a positive trend, case numbers are likely undercounted due to the prevalence of at-home tests that are often not officially recorded.
Thurston County’s disease activity rating fell in mid-August from “high” to “substantial,” according to the Washington State Department of Health.
This occurred because the county’s case rate per 100,000 people fell below 100, the state’s threshold for high activity. Between Aug. 23-29, the county’s case rate fell to 73.5.
The state’s “substantial” rating extended to most of the county’s immediate neighbors. The one exception was Mason County which had a case rate of 128 over the same time period.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Thurston County’s COVID-19 Community Level as “low” based on data from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7.
The CDC determines community levels by weighing hospital admission and inpatient bed data after considering cases per 100,000 in the past seven days. Thurston County shared the “low” rating with all of its immediate neighbors.
With a “low” rating, the CDC recommends people wear masks if they experience symptoms, test positive or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
People should also wear masks on public transportation, the CDC says.
Hospitalizations
CDC hospitalization data showed fewer people have been hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 over the past week.
Around 4% of staffed in-patient beds were being used by patients with confirmed COVID-19 over that period, the data show. About 4.6% of these beds were reported occupied the previous week.
There were about 3.9 hospital admissions per 100,000 Thurston County residents over a seven-day period ending on Monday, the CDC data shows. The previous week, the CDC reported a 7.3 rate.
Over a seven-day period ending on Tuesday, state DOH data indicates about 89.6% of Intensive Care Unit beds were occupied in the West region, which includes Thurston County and some of its neighbors.
The data show 11% of ICU beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in the region as well. Hospitals in the region were 90% full over the seven-day period, while COVID-19 patients accounted for 5.7%.
PHSS recorded 10 hospitalizations in Thurston County from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. In all, county data show 2,793 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 county reports all had a known underlying condition.
Outbreaks
PHSS had been investigating 21 ongoing outbreaks at congregate care settings as of Sunday. In all, there have been 269 such outbreaks – one more than the number reported the previous week.
The ongoing outbreaks included five adult family homes, seven assisted living facilities, one congregate housing setting, two enhanced services facilities, three nursing facilities and three supported living facilities.
Vaccines and testing
Thurston County PHSS continues to offer free vaccination events, including for the new bivalent booster shots. 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.
In the region
Pierce County has confirmed 217,885 total COVID-19 cases with 1,502 deaths. 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 19,775 confirmed cases with 277 deaths as of Tuesday, state data shows. Lewis County has a population of almost 83,000. The CDC indicates Lewis County has a low COVID-19 community level.
Grays Harbor County has seen a total of 19,072 cases with 215 deaths, according to state data. Grays Harbor County has a population of about 75,000. The CDC indicates Grays Harbor County has a low COVID-19 community level.
Mason County has reported 13,606 confirmed cases with 155 deaths. Mason County has a population of about 69,000. The CDC indicates Mason County has a low 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 14,020 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the U.S., about 95 million COVID-19 cases had been reported as of Thursday with 1.05 million deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The U.S. population is about 330 million.
Globally, more than 607.2 million people had contracted the virus and over 6.5 million people had died of COVID-19 as of Thursday, the data show.
