Surge in coronavirus cases slows, as Whatcom reports 2 positive tests and no deaths
Despite a surge in the number of coronavirus cases last week, the Whatcom County Health Department on Monday, May 4, reported only two more residents have tested positive for COVID-19. No new deaths were reported.
The health department is currently reporting 319 coronavirus cases and 27 reported deaths.
The number of reported deaths actually shrank by one on Sunday, when the health department updated its statistics.
Health Department representative Ali Jensen told The Bellingham Herald that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 died and was included in the count until it was identified that COVID-19 was not that person’s cause of death.
With the two new positive on Monday, Whatcom’s number of COVID-19 cases has gone up by five so far this week after increasing by 30 the previous week.
The health department also reported 27 more negative test results, meaning the county now has had 2,809.
More than 3.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 249,000 deaths as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.1 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 68,046 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 15,185 cases and 834 deaths Saturday evening.
Shuksan admits new resident
Shuksan Healthcare Center reported that it has admitted one new resident who previously tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, May 3.
It is the fifth resident who already had coronavirus when they were admitted to the Bellingham nursing home, though one has since passed. The new admission brings the facility to 29 residents.
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 of those residents later died.
The Bellingham nursing home announced last month that it would begin accepting new patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus. It is one of three the state is working to set up as COVID-19 specific sites to offer more space for isolation for patients who may not be able to isolate well in existing long-term care facilities.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
