Whatcom health department reports one new coronavirus case, no deaths Monday
The Whatcom County Health Department reported one more resident has tested positive for COVID-19 and no new coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, April 27.
The county now has 290 cases of coronavirus and has seen 27 deaths, according to health department data.
The health department also reported that the number of negative COVID-19 tests surpassed 2,000, with eight new negative tests reported Monday bringing the total to 2,005.
More than 3 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 208,000 deaths as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 872,900 confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 55,118 deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 13,521 cases and 749 deaths as of Sunday evening.
New Shuksan coronavirus patients
Shuksan Healthcare Center, the Bellingham nursing home that saw the largest reported coronavirus cluster in Whatcom County, announced Sunday that it has accepted two new residents who have previously tested positive for COVID-19.
The facility announced last week that it would begin accepting new patients who have tested positive for the respiratory illness. Shuksan also reported April 6 that it admitted another person who previously test positive.
The two new additions announced Sunday bring the total number of residents at the facility to 29, according to a Shuksan release. Twenty-five of those 29 residents have previously tested positive for COVID-19, two have previously tested negative, one resident’s test was inconclusive and the last refused testing.
“It is our understanding that, including Shuksan, only three Western Washington skilled nursing facilities are admitting COVID-19 positive residents,” Shuksan said in the release. “As we have anticipated, it seems likely that Shuksan will be approached about admitting additional residents in the near future, and we are prepared to do so.”
The Whatcom County Health Department first announced a coronavirus outbreak at Shuksan on March 22. Since then, a total of 54 people at the facility tested positive — 31 residents and 23 staff members.
Ten Shuksan residents who tested positive for COVID-19 have died, and an 11th, who died at home 10 days after being released from the facility, also had a test return positive the day after their death.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
