Whatcom reports 2 more deaths linked to coronavirus and 7 new positive tests Friday
Two more Whatcom County residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, the Whatcom County Health Department reported Friday, April 10, and an additional seven people tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The most recent deaths represent the 22nd and 23rd residents in the county to die after testing positive for the respiratory illness.
The number of people to test positive, meanwhile, reached 250.
No other information on the most recent deaths, including the residents’ age and gender, were included in the information released by the health department Friday.
Whatcom’s first death from coronavirus — a man in his 60s — was reported on March 19.
Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response, so far has released the age and gender of 18 of the county’s 23 deaths. All 18 of those deaths have been residents 60 or older, with 15 of them 80 or older. Eleven have been men.
Of the 250 residents who have been confirmed to have coronavirus, 46% are 60 or older, according to statistics reported by the health department.
The number of Whatcom County residents to recover from the respiratory illness after testing positive is not known, because the health department is not a healthcare provider and does not collect that information, unified command spokesperson Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
More than 1.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 100,000 deaths as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 475,000 confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 17925 deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 9.608 cases and 446 deaths as of Thursday afternoon.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
COVID-19, the new coronavirus, is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The disease is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
Although most of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
Click the drop-down icon in the upper right of this card for more information on symptoms and how to stop its spread.
What you can do
Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
▪ Keep six feet between yourself and others when in public.
▪ Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
▪ Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with hands that haven’t been washed.
▪ Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, throw the tissue in the trash and then wash your hands.
▪ Stay home if you feel sick. Avoid others who are sick.
▪ If your symptoms are severe and require medical care, call your doctor first.
