Thurston official extends recommendation for schools as 25 more COVID-19 cases reported
Thurston County’s health officer, responding to the increased number of COVID-19 cases here, is recommending that expansion of in-person learning at area schools be paused again through Nov. 6.
Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek made that recommendation in a letter to county superintendents on Thursday.
She recommended on Oct. 14 that expansion of in-person learning be paused for 14 days, but after the county crossed into the high transmission range of more than 75 cases per 100,000 population on Oct. 23, she extended it.
“I am currently recommending extending the pause through November 6, 2020,” she writes in her letter. “If transmission rates remain above 75 cases/100,000 population over 14 days for a majority of those days, I will recommend a return to distance learning for all students with the exception of cohort groups of five students with the highest need.”
Meanwhile, 25 more cases were announced Thursday, giving the county 85 cases for the week and 1,829 overall, according to Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.
The new cases included a man in his 90s, four people in their 40s and six people in their 20s, which continues to be the largest age demographic in the county to contract the virus. Those in their 20s represent 21 percent of all cases, or 375 to date.
Of the total cases, 1,366 people have recovered or are recovering, 133 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness and 33 have died, including 11 in the past seven days. No new deaths were announced Thursday.
The county is still reporting six COVID-19 outbreaks at what it calls “congregate care settings.” They are two adult family homes, two assisted living facilities and two nursing homes.
In the region
▪ Pierce County added 108 new cases on Thursday with no new deaths, giving the county a total of 10,083 cases and 191 deaths.
▪ Lewis County reported six new cases on Thursday for a total of 737 cases and 12 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County last announced new cases Oct. 22 for a total of 680 with 11 deaths. However, the state Department of Health shows the county has 714 total cases.
▪ Mason County reported five additional cases on Thursday for a total of 570 with 12 deaths.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health reported 814 new cases and six deaths on Thursday to give the state 105,557 cases with 2,359 deaths.
In the U.S., the number of reported cases topped 9 million Friday, with more than 229,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, more than 45.4 million cases have been reported and more than 1.18 million people had died as of Friday, the data show.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
