Whatcom County reports no new positive tests or deaths related to coronavirus Sunday

The Whatcom County Health Department reported Sunday, May 17, that another 52 county residents have tested negative for COVID-19, meaning 1,336 negative test results have been reported the past five days.

The county is now reporting 4,571 negative coronavirus test results — 92.8% of the 4,924 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 zero new positive test results on Sunday, keeping the county’s total number of confirmed cases to 353.

The county health department also reported the number of coronavirus-related deaths remained steady at 32 on Sunday, though the Washington State Department of Health reported Friday night that Whatcom County has had 35 deaths linked to COVID-19.

Unified command told The Herald in an email that the number of deaths the county health department reports reflects only those that have been attributed to COVID-19 as the cause of death while the state is still reporting the total number of people who have died and also tested positive for COVID-19.

“The higher number reported by the state reflects the total number of people who have passed away after having tested positive for COVID-19 even if the cause of death was not COVID-19. We are aware of 3 people who died who did test positive for COVID-19, but whose death record does not indicate COVID-19 as the cause of death,” the county email stated.

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 who have recovered.

St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported Sunday that it has no patients who have tested positive for COVID-19 and no other patients suspected of having the respiratory illness for the second consecutive day. Saturday, May 16, was the first day without patients with the illness or waiting for COVID-19 tests at the hospital, according to spokesperson Bev Mayhew.

In response to what it called misinformation being spread about quarantine facilities, Washington state confirmed last week that the facilities are voluntary and “to provide a safe place for individuals to isolate or quarantine if they cannot do so in their own home and are referred based on a medical provider’s referral,” according to a press release from April.

The Whatcom shelter on Byron Avenue is currently housing five individuals, according to unified command public information officer Claudia Murphy.

More than 4.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 312,000 deaths as of Sunday 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 87,315 deaths.

Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 18,288 cases and 1,000 deaths as of Saturday evening.

This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 11:12 AM.