County Briefs

141 county residents contract COVID-19

Mason County recorded 141 COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the Division of Emergency Management.

Two people died in the past week, including a woman in her 40s and a man in his 60s. The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 175.2 and the 14-day case rate per 100,000 is 300.1.

Five people are hospitalized with COVID-19 and the county is 55% fully vaccinated.

As of Dec. 20, 82.2% of eligible people in the state have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 75.6% are fully vaccinated.

Morini named Mason Health employee of the month

Mason Health surgical technician Nick Morini is employee of the month for December. 

According to a news release, Morini joined Mason Health in August 2019. When he first joined Mason Health, some of Morini’s relatives also worked for Mason Health, including his brother Vincent as a receptionist and his mom, Shannon Barhart, as director of patient access since 2010. 

Morini is a native of Shelton and graduated from Shelton High School in 2012. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 20 and served for five years. 

“I’ve known about Mason Health for a long time,” Morini said in a news release. “When I was getting out of the Navy, everything was up in the air when I was deciding what I would do. My mother said, ‘You know, we need surgery techs here.’ It’s nice to work near my mom. I definitely enjoy the people I work with here. It’s what makes it easy to come back every day. We’re a family here. I have a lot of fun with my coworkers.” 

Mason County’s November jobless rate 6th highest in Washington

Mason County recorded a 4.7% unemployment rate in November, according to state Employment Security Department data.

According to the data, Mason County has the sixth highest unemployment rate in the state. The average unemployment rate for Washington counties is 3.4%. 

The county has 24,939 people in the civilian labor force and has 23,778 employed and 1,161 people unemployed. 

Ferry County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.9% and Asotin County had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.2%. 

Comparing counties near Mason County, Thurston County had a 3.2% unemployment rate, Kitsap County had a 3% rate, Jefferson County had a 3.9% rate, Pierce County had a 3.8% rate and Grays Harbor County had a 5.1% rate. 

MCSO closes Belfair office until Jan. 4

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office closed its Belfair business office until Tuesday. 

According to the MCSO Twitter account, the closure is due to the weather conditions and safety of volunteers and residents.