Thurston County adds 69 COVID-19 cases, weekly total grows to 240
Thurston County added 69 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, increasing the weekly total to 240 cases and the overall total to 3,743 cases.
Although weekly totals here fell to a four-week low of 314 the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6, it appears this week is likely to exceed that number. And even though new vaccines are on the horizon, County Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek reminded residents Wednesday they will still need to be careful.
“Even after vaccination becomes more widely distributed, it will continue to be important for all of us to mask, maintain six feet of distance, avoid gatherings, and continue COVID-19 prevention measures until there is enough data showing it is safe to stop these countermeasures,” she writes in her weekly letter to the community.
In Western Washington, the average person with the virus infects 1.4 people.
“For the pandemic to end, this number must be less than one,” she writes.
Meanwhile, of the overall total here, 2,130 people have recovered or are recovering from the virus, 228 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness and 49 have died, according to Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.
The county is also reporting 13 COVID-19 outbreaks at area congregate care settings. Eleven of the 13 have been identified as four nursing homes, three assisted living facilities, three supported living facilities and one adult family home.
OTHER DATA
▪ The November totals are in: 1,331 people contracted the virus in Thurston County last month, the most in one month since the first case was reported in early March.
▪ County zip codes that showed an increase in cases from last week: 98501, 98502, 98503, 98506, 98512, 98513, 98516, 98531, 98579, 98589, 98597.
IN THE REGION
▪ Pierce County on Wednesday announced 711 cases and one new death, a man in his 60s from Spanaway with underlying health conditions. The county has now reported 18,915 cases and 254 deaths.
▪ Lewis County has reported a total of 1,548 cases and 18 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County announced 11 new cases Tuesday night, giving the county 1,309 with 17 deaths.
▪ Mason County reported 27 additional cases on Wednesday for a total of 937 with 11 deaths.
AROUND THE STATE, NATION AND WORLD
The state Department of Health has reported 189,863 cases and 3,016 deaths.
In the U.S., more than 15 million cases have been reported with more than 288,000 deaths as of Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Globally, nearly 69 million cases have been reported and 1.56 million people have died as of Wednesday, the data show.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 5:16 PM.
