Thurston County adds 1 death, 134 COVID-19 cases over past week
Thurston County saw one death due to COVID-19 last week and added 134 cases as county residents’ efforts to get vaccinated remain sluggish.
A woman in her 30s died of COVID-19 on July 8, according to Thurston County Public Health and Social Services.
The county’s case count last week bucked a downward trend that started mid-June. The previous week, the county reported 107 cases and the week before that 143 cases.
Although the county added more cases last week, state data indicates disease activity has continued to decline since the end of April.
The county saw a case rate of 74.2 per 100,000 people over the two-week period from June 21 to July 4, according to state data. That percentage has increased from the most recent low of 3.2 percent from June 21-27.
Overall, the test positivity rate has not dipped below the state’s target of 2 percent since last September but has generally decreased since the end of April when there was a high of 9.6 percent, the data show.
Since March 2020, the county has confirmed a total of 11,225 COVID-19 cases and 97 deaths. In all, 10,941 COVID patients are considered recovered or recovering and 681 people have been hospitalized at some point in their illness, the data show.
The county reported it is currently monitoring one ongoing outbreak at a congregate care setting. To date, there have been 62 such outbreaks, according to county data.
No local school district reported an outbreak in June, according to the county’s data tables.
The county still has a ways to go before it can reach its goal of at least initiating vaccinations in 70 percent of the 16 and older population.
About 52.2 percent of the county population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 47.8 percent had been fully vaccinated as of last Wednesday, according to the latest state data.
This means over half the county population has not been fully vaccinated about two weeks past June 30 when the state and the county hoped to reach the 70 percent goal.
Discounting children under 16, 62.2 percent of the population had received at least one dose and 57.2 percent had been fully vaccinated, the data show.
The state reported 69.6 percent of the 16 and older population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Friday.
Since vaccinations began in mid-December, the state and health-care providers have administered 7,964,881 doses. Providers are currently giving an average of about 10,865 vaccine shots per day, The Seattle Times reported.
Although masks are no longer required in many settings, health officer Dimyana Abdelmalek has asked all residents to continue masking in public indoor settings until 70 percent of the population is vaccinated.
Thurston County PHSS is continuing to offer free vaccination events every week. Events are listed on their coronavirus vaccine information website. Although no longer required, people are still encouraged to pre-register for these events through the state’s PrepMod website.
Residents also can find appointments at local providers such as pharmacies by visiting the state’s Vaccine Locator website. Many supermarket pharmacies are taking walk-ins for vaccines.
Those who have difficulty scheduling appointments online can call the Department of Health vaccine hotline at 888-856-5816 or the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services line at 360-867-2610. Information for Spanish speakers is available at these numbers as well.
In the region
▪ Pierce County confirmed 51,564 total COVID-19 cases with 620 deaths as of Tuesday.
▪ Grays Harbor County had reported a total of 4,646 confirmed and probable cases with 77 deaths as of Monday.
▪ Lewis County Public Health & Social Services reported 5,396 confirmed and probable cases with 78 deaths as of Monday.
▪ Mason County reported 2,330 confirmed cases with 36 deaths as of Tuesday.
In the state, nation and world
The state of Washington had reported a total of 456,709 COVID-19 cases and 6,000 deaths as of Monday. The Seattle Times reported about 44% of the state’s deaths have been among residents, staff and visitors of long-term-care facilities, which have borne the brunt of the deadly virus. As of July 6, 2,666 people associated with the state’s nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and adult family homes have died of COVID-19, according to the DOH.
The Seattle Times reported Washington state has had the fifth-lowest case count and seventh-lowest death rate in the country, adjusted for population, according to DOH.
In the U.S., over 33.9 million cases had been reported as of Tuesday with more than 607,600 deaths.
Globally, over 187.6 million people had contracted the virus and more than 4 million people had died of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the data show.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
