Six deaths reported Monday bring Whatcom County’s coronavirus deaths to 19

Six more Whatcom County residents who tested positive for COVID-19, the new coronavirus, have died, according to information released Monday, April 6, by the Whatcom County Health Department.

That brings the total number of deaths in Whatcom County due to the coronavirus pandemic to 19, the health department reported.

The six additional deaths announced Monday mean the county has reported 10 deaths in the past two days as four were reported Sunday.

All six deaths reported Monday were men over the age of 59, according to an email to The Bellingham Herald from Claudia Murphy, spokesperson for Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response. Two of the men reportedly were in their 60s, one was in his 80s and three were in their 90s.

Murphy reported that not all of the deaths occurred within the past 24 hours, and the health department continues to investigate them.

Four more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the health department reported Monday, bringing the county’s total number diagnosed with the respiratory illness to 228.

More than 1.3 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 72,600 deaths as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 347,000 confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 10,335 deaths.

Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 7,984 cases and 338 deaths as of Sunday afternoon.

Details on deaths

Whatcom Unified Command also released more information about some of the previous coronavirus-related deaths in the county in emails to The Bellingham Herald over the weekend.

According to information previously provided by the health department and in emails from unified command spokesperson Claudia Murphy, the first 13 deaths the county saw related to COVID-19 include:

▪ A man in his 60s died March 19 when he was a patient at St. Joseph hospital.

▪ A man in his 80s died March 20, 10 days after he was released from Shuksan Healthcare Center. He was tested for COVID-19, and that test came back positive a day after he died.

▪ A woman in her 90s died March 25 when they were a resident at Shuksan.

▪ A man in his 90s who was a resident at Summit Place. His death was reported March 26.

▪ A man in his 90s who was a resident at Shuksan. His death was reported March 26.

▪ A woman in her 80s who was a resident at Shuksan. Her death was reported March 28.

▪ A man in his 80s who was a resident at Shuksan. His death was reported March 28.

▪ A woman in her 90s who was a resident at Shuksan. Her death was reported March 31.

▪ A death was reported April 2. No other information has been confirmed yet, Murphy reported.

▪ A woman in her 80s who was a resident at Summit Place. Her death was reported April 5.

▪ A woman in her 90s who was a resident at Lynden Manor. Her death was reported April 5.

▪ A woman in her 80s who was not associated to any facilities. Her death was reported April 5.

▪ A woman in her 90s who was a resident at Shuksan. Her death was reported April 5.

Coronavirus at facilities

Overall, of the first 13 deaths reported by the county health department, Murphy reported:

▪ Six have been associated to Shuksan.

▪ Two have been associated to Summit Place.

▪ One has been associated Lynden Manor.

▪ Four have not been associated to any facility.

On March 22, the health department reported a coronavirus outbreak at Shuksan. The facility has since reported 54 people associated with the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 — 31 residents and 23 employees.

The Lummi Public Health Department has reported 19 positive tests among community members, including at least 10 who live on the Lummi Reservation. The Lummi health department also has reported nine community members who have recovered.

Other Whatcom County facilities and businesses have reporting positive tests for COVID-19 include:

▪ Stafholt: The Good Samaritan Society confirmed that two medical professionals and 11 residents at the Blaine nursing facility have tested positive, as of April 1.

▪ Lynden Manor: The assisted living facility reported March 31 that it has had five residents test positive.

▪ Whatcom Community College: The school has announced April 2 three employees at the Health Professionals Education Center have tested positive.

▪ Western Washington University: According Western’s coronavirus information page, the Student Health Center has had two positive test results for COVID-19 as of March 30. The center also has had 60 negative test results.

▪ Grocery Outlet: Two employees at the Grocery Outlet in Ferndale tested positive for COVID-19, according to a post on the store’s Facebook page. The employees are at home in self-quarantine recovering, according to the post. After learning of the diagnoses, Grocery Outlet closed Saturday for deep cleaning, the post stated.

▪ Spring Creek by Bonaventure: On March 27, the Bellingham senior living facility confirmed that a resident tested positive.

▪ Intalco: The Alcoa aluminum smelter in Ferndale reported on March 25 that it had one employee test positive.

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 8:42 AM.

David Rasbach

The Bellingham Herald

360-715-2286

David Rasbach joined The Bellingham Herald in 2005 and now covers breaking news. He has been an editor and writer in several western states since 1994.