Whatcom health department reports another coronavirus-related death Friday
Another Whatcom County resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the Whatcom County Health Department reported on Friday, May 8.
It is the fifth death reported in the past two days, after the health department reported four coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, May 7 — the first new deaths linked to the respiratory illness since April 28. The county has now had 32 deaths tied to COVID-19.
Only one more county resident had a COVID-19 test returned positive, the health department reported, bringing the total of people diagnosed with the illness to 329 since the first case in the country was reported March 10.
The health department also reported 160 negative test results Friday, bringing the county’s total to 3,049.
After reporting 18 new cases among Lummi Nation community members last week, the Lummi Public Health Department reports it hasn’t seen any new positive COVID-19 tests since Saturday, May 2. A Facebook post Thursday afternoon reported the number of positive tests remains at 40, with 407 negative test results, two tests that were indeterminate and three tests pending. Of the 40 people who tested positive, 22 have since recovered.
The Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response, has previously told The Bellingham Herald that the Whatcom health department does not track the number of recoveries because it is not a healthcare provider.
Shuksan Healthcare Center, the Bellingham nursing facility that was the site of a coronavirus outbreak announced March 22, reported Thursday that the 23 longer-term residents who previously tested positive for COVID-19 have “stabilized.” The facility says it is still treating three residents who tested positive for the respiratory illness before they were admitted in a separate wing.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Herald Friday that it currently has no confirmed COVID-19 patients, but it is treating two patients that are suspected of having coronavirus.
It’s the first day without a COVID-19 at the hospital, spokesperson Hilary Andrade said, since its first positive inpatient was confirmed on March 17.
The first Whatcom County person was confirmed to have COVID-19 on March 10. They were self-isolating at home after being discharged from St. Joseph hospital.
More than 3.8 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 281,000 deaths as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.2 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 76,032 deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 16,231 cases and 891 deaths Thursday evening.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 12:26 PM.
