Whatcom’s negative coronavirus test results continue surge with 285 more Friday
The Whatcom County Health Department reported Friday, May 15, that another 285 county residents have tested negative for COVID-19, meaning 1,228 negative test results have been reported the past three days.
The county is now reporting 4,463 negative coronavirus test results — 92.7% of the 4,812 total test results that have been announced.
The Bellingham Herald has asked Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response, the reason behind the recent surge in the number of test results reported and has not yet received an answer.
The health department recorded three new positive test results on Friday, bringing the county’s total number of confirmed cases to 349.
The county health department also reported the number of coronavirus-related deaths remained steady at 32 on Friday, though the Washington State Department of Health reported Thursday night that Whatcom County has had 35 deaths linked to COVID-19.
The Herald has reached out to Whatcom Unified Command for clarification on the discrepancy between county and state numbers, though testing numbers reported by the two departments have often not matched.
The county health department has previously told The Herald that, since it is not a healthcare provider, it is not able to track the number of COVID-positive patients that have recovered.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported Friday that it is currently treating one patient who has tested positive for COVID-19 and no other patients it suspects have the respiratory illness.
More than 4.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 304,000 deaths as of Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.4 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 86,386 deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 17,773 cases and 983 deaths Thursday evening.
