Thurston County reported 316 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week as disease activity remains high and the county adjusts to new masking guidance.
The case count is slightly higher than the total case counts for the previous two weeks, which were 304 between May 10-16 and 301 between May 3-9, per county data.
The county is still experiencing high disease activity, according to the latest state data. During the two-week period from May 3 to May 16, the state reported the county saw 198.6 cases per 100,000 people.
During the most recent peak between April 20 to May 3, the county had a case rate of 216.5, per state data.
In a letter to the community released Friday, Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Health Officer Dimyana Abdelmalek said COVID-19 activity has been increasing here.
"Unfortunately, even though Washington state is seeing an overall decline in COVID-19 cases, that is not the case here in Thurston County," Abdelmalek said. "When community transmission rates are high, this increases the chance that COVID-19 can spread in schools, workplaces, and anywhere people are gathered."
As of Monday, 48.9% of the total county population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to state data, and 40.8% had been fully vaccinated. That means the county has a long way to go before reaching its goal of vaccinating 70% of the population.
In her letter, Abdelmalek implored everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. Over the past week, she said 27% of cases occurred in people 19 or younger.
"While throughout the duration of the pandemic the age groups with the greatest number of positive cases have been the 20-29 year old age group, followed by the 30-39 year old age group, we have been seeing increasing numbers of youth under the age of 19 in recent weeks," Abdelmalek said.
Individuals as young as 12 can be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, she said. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson brands are still only approved for people 18 or older.
On May 15, state Secretary of Health Umair Shah affirmed new mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via an updated order.
Per the order, fully vaccinated individuals can resume many activities without wearing masks, except in healthcare settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, schools or public transit.
To be fully vaccinated, a person must be two weeks removed from their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Abdelmalek said.
Despite heightened disease activity and inadequate vaccination rates, Abdelmalek indicated in her letter that residents should follow the CDC's and Shah's guidance on masks. However, she clarified that businesses retain the right to require masks.
In all, there have been 9,848 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Thurston County with 91 deaths, according to county data. Since the county started recording data about 14 months ago, 561 people have been hospitalized at some point in their illness and 8,996 cases are considered recovered or recovering.
Over the one-week period from April 27 to May 3, the state reported 8.2% of COVID-19 tests in Thurston County returned a positive result. This is a relatively high percentage, well above the state's goal of less than 2%, but it's lower than the most recent high of 10.1% recorded between April 20-26, according to state data.
The county also is reporting four ongoing outbreaks in congregate care settings for a total of 58 such outbreaks since the county first started recording data.
In the region
— Pierce County confirmed 93 new COVID-19 cases and one new death on Monday, bringing its totals to 48,063 cases and 560 deaths.
— Grays Harbor County has reported 4,271 confirmed and probable cases and 70 deaths as of Monday.
— Lewis County Public Health & Social Services reported 3,926 confirmed cases and 66 deaths as of Monday.
— Mason County reported 2,160 confirmed cases with 31 deaths as of Monday.
In the state, nation and world
The state of Washington had reported a total of 429,499 COVID-19 cases and 5,709 deaths as of Monday.
In the U.S., over 33.1 million cases had been reported as of Tuesday with nearly 591,000 deaths.
Globally, 167.5 million people had contracted the virus and nearly 3.48 million had died as of Tuesday, the data show.
