As cases rise, Thurston health official recommends remote learning for schools until January 2021
Thurston County’s top health official on Friday recommended that in-person hybrid learning at schools wind down — except for small groups of students with the highest needs — and that remote instruction continue until January 2021 because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Thurston County had been in the high transmission range of more than 75 cases per 100,000 population, but on Wednesday the transmission rate rose to 95.9 cases per 100,000 population for the previous 14 days.
Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek made her recommendation in a letter to area superintendents, which was posted on the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services website.
“In accordance with the Washington State Department of Health K-12 decision tree, Thurston County COVID-19 activity level is high and I am strongly recommending a return to distance learning modality until January 2021, with the exception of in-person learning opportunities for cohorts of six students with the highest needs,” she wrote in her letter.
She added: “Given our rising transmission rates, I am recommending the transition from in-person hybrid learning to remote learning take place within the next two weeks.”
Abdelmalek outlined other concerns as well, including an increase in outbreaks at area long-term care facilities and other employers. Hospitals, too, have seen an increase in beds filled with COVID-19 patients.
“Our public health capacity has stretched to meet community needs with this rise in cases and outbreaks but it is not infinite,” she writes.
Meanwhile, 26 more cases of the virus were announced Friday, giving the county 137 for the week and 2,046 total since the beginning of the pandemic.
The new cases included six school-aged people between the ages of 10-19, the county data show.
Of the overall total, 1,553 people have recovered or are recovering, 140 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness, and 38 people have died, including five in the past seven days.
Three of those five deaths were previously identified. A woman in her 90s and a woman in her 80s died Wednesday, county data show.
The county is also now reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 10 congregate care settings. Seven of the 10 have been identified as three adult family homes, two assisted living facilities and two nursing homes.
In the region
▪ Pierce County on Friday announced 141 cases and two deaths, a man in his 80s from Lakewood and a man in his 60s from University Place. Both had underlying health conditions. The county has now reported 11,049 cases and 201 deaths.
▪ Lewis County reported five new cases on Friday for a total of 779 cases and 12 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County added 25 cases and two deaths Thursday night, giving the county 771 with 15 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported three additional cases on Friday for a total of 607 with 10 deaths.
Around the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health on Friday reported 1,691 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, a new single-day high for cases, and eight new deaths, giving the state 114,241 cases and 2,439 deaths.
In the U.S., more than 9.8 million cases had been reported with nearly 237,000 deaths as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, 49.7 million cases had been reported and 1.25 million people had died as of Saturday, the data show.
This story was originally published November 6, 2020 at 3:58 PM.
