Thurston adds 18 COVID-19 cases Friday, part of virus’ ‘explosive’ growth in state
Thurston County Public Health and Social Services on Friday reported 18 new cases of COVID-19, pushing this week’s total so far to 77 and the total since March 11, when the first local case was announced, to 455.
That growth is part if what the state Department of Health referred to as “explosive” growth in the virus in the situation report it released on Friday:
“Washington state as a whole is in an explosive situation. Transmission continues to increase or accelerate across most of Washington state and will continue to do so unless concrete steps are taken to stop the spread. All indicators of the extent of viral spread are higher than last week with the exception of Yakima. In both eastern and western Washington, cases are increasing fastest among 20-29 year olds and are also growing in both younger and older age groups around them.”
In Thurston County, all but two of the latest residents to be diagnosed are in their 40s or younger, continuing a trend consistently noted by local public health officials who often attribute it to young people gathering and traveling. As of Friday, the age group making up the highest percentage of local cases was residents ages 20-29, reflecting the state. In Thurston, they account for 20 percent of the total.
County data shows the cases announced Friday are in:
- A girl and a boy between the ages of 10 and 19;
- Three women and two men in their 20s;
- Three men and a woman in their 30s;
- Five men in their 40s;
- A man in his 80s; and
- A woman in her 90s.
With the addition of these latest cases, the week’s total is quickly approaching the previous one-week high of 80 cases, recorded the week ending July 12.
Of the 455 Thurston County residents diagnosed with COVID-19, 41 have been hospitalized at some point and 277 are currently considered by the county to be “recovered” or “recovering,” meaning they are no longer under public health-ordered isolation. However, those people may still experience ongoing health problems due to the illness.
Five county residents have died due to complications related to COVID-19.
The county has added new data to its website that shows a one-week summary for Thurston County residents. Between July 11 and 17, the data show that 109 residents were diagnosed, four were hospitalized with the disease, and 3.9 percent of residents tested were found to be positive.
The percentage of residents who test positive has been climbing in recent days. Until last week, the county’s cumulative percentage of positive tests over time had hovered around 2 percent. As of Wednesday, it was at 2.3 percent.
In the region
- Pierce County reported 77 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths Friday. A total of 3,556 county residents have tested positive for the virus and 101 people have died because of it.
- Lewis County reported 10 new cases: two patients in under age 20, one in their 30s, five in their 40s and one each in their 50s and 60s. This brings the county’s total to 125 residents who have tested positive, 18 of whom have been hospitalized at some point in their illness and 34 of whom of which have recovered.
- Mason County added three new cases, bringing the total to 82 cases and one death. The latest cases are in two women in their 20s and one in her 50s.
- Grays Harbor County is now reporting 61 confirmed cases and one death.
Around the state, nation and world
- Washington state’s Department of Health was reporting a statewide case total of more than 45,067 and 1,434 deaths as of Friday afternoon.
- In the U.S., more than 3.6 million people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and 139,255 people had died from it as of Friday evening, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
- Globally, more than 14 million cases and 602,000 deaths had been reported as of Friday.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
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