Thurston County reports 1 COVID-19 death and 16 more cases on Thursday
A Thurston County man in his 60s has died from COVID-19, the first death from the virus in the county in nearly three weeks.
Thurston County health officials also reported 16 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.
The man’s death brings the county’s death toll to 64 since the pandemic began here in March.
The 16 new cases include seven people 19 or younger, as well as two men in their 30s, a man and woman in their 40s, a man and woman in their 50s, one woman in her 70s and two women in their 90s, according to Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.
Although confirmed cases of COVID-19 are trending lower in the county, county Health Officer Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek still reminded residents on Thursday not to let their guard down when it comes to the coronavirus.
“Please continue to wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart from non-household members, frequently wash your hands, and avoid large gatherings,” she said in a letter to the community.
There has been both encouraging news and setbacks regarding the pandemic this week.
Thurston County schools are welcoming back more students as case rates fall. North Thurston Public Schools announced Wednesday that grades 3-5 will start hybrid learning in early March. In Olympia, the school district announced that grades 1 and 2 will start hybrid learning on Monday.
Still, vaccine appointments remain hard to get because winter storms have delayed vaccine supplies, The Olympian reported.
Thursday’s 16 cases increased the overall total here to 6,967. Of those, 6,402 people have recovered or are recovering and 337 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. The county is still reporting eight COVID-19 outbreaks at area congregate care settings.
In the region
▪ Pierce County reported 109 new cases and three deaths Thursday, bringing its totals to 35,261 cases and 440 deaths.
▪ Grays Harbor County reported 3,233 confirmed and probable cases and 45 deaths on Thursday.
▪ Lewis County Public Health & Social Services reported 15 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the county’s total to 3,166. The death toll remains at 42.
▪ Mason County reported five new COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing its total to 1,662 cases with 23 deaths.
▪ Pacific County has reported a total of 700 confirmed and probable cases with nine deaths as of Wednesday.
In the state, nation and world
The state Department of Health has reported 332,007 confirmed and probable cases and 4,803 deaths as of Thursday.
In the U.S., more than 27.9 million cases had been reported as of Friday with more than 495,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. California has surpassed New York as the state with the most people killed by COVID-19, at more than 48,000 deaths since the pandemic began.
Globally, more than 110.6 million cases had been reported and 2.45 million people had died as of Friday, the data show.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
