Four new positive COVID-19 tests, no new deaths reported for Whatcom County Saturday
Whatcom County Health Department reported four new positive tests for COVID-19 but no new deaths related to coronavirus on Saturday, May 23.
That increases the county’s confirmed cases to 368 while deaths remain at 32, according to health department statistics.
Whatcom remains one of 14 Washington state counties that remain in Phase 1 of the state’s phased approach to re-opening businesses and modifying physical distancing measures.
Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday, May 22, that the state is making good progress as it continues to open, but that not all counties will reopen June 1.
“We are hard at work to determine next steps as we move closer to the May 31 expiration of my current order. As I have repeatedly said before, these are decisions that are driven by public health data and science, not the calendar,” he said.
“To be clear: this does not mean that we will be able to open every county in the state on June 1. Counties that continue to have large numbers of infections are not in a position to open up stores, restaurants and services safely,” he said.
Whatcom County reported that new negative results were not available Saturday from the Washington Disease Reporting System. Negative test results number Friday were 4,712 — meaning 92.8% of tests reported in Whatcom County have come back negative.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported Saturday that it was treating no COVID-19 patients but had one patient waiting for results of a coronavirus test.
The COVID-19 outbreak at Abbotsford Regional Hospital in Canada, about 45 minutes from downtown Bellingham, had risen Friday to 10 staff and one patient testing positive for the virus, according to The Abbotsford News.
The Washington State Department of Health reports that Whatcom County has had 50 coronavirus-related hospitalizations during the pandemic. However, St. Joseph hospital reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday, May 22, it has had 58 hospitalizations to date.
More than 5.26 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 339,600 deaths as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 1.6 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — with at least 96,283 deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health reported 19,265 cases, 1,050 deaths and 3,230 coronavirus-related hospitalizations as of Friday evening. Approximately 5.5% of all confirmed cases in the death have resulted in death, while 6.2% of the 308,358 of the tests have come back positive for COVID-19.
Flu season over
Flu activity is low in Washington state, according to the weekly report from the Washington State Department of Health.
The report covers May 10-16, the most recent data available, and showed no one tested positive for the flu during that period.
It’s the last weekly flu report from the state until the fall. Reports will be monthly until then.
For the 2019-2020 season through May 16:
- 103 confirmed flu-related deaths have been reported in the state, including four in Whatcom County.
- 91 flu-like outbreaks have been reported in long-term care facilities, including three outbreaks in Whatcom County.
Both the state and Whatcom County Health Department flu reports noted that the COVID-19 outbreak has likely affected the preliminary flu data.
Phased re-opening
Under Phase 1, high-risk populations are encouraged to stay home, some outdoor recreation (hunting, fishing, golf, boating and hiking) is allowed, but no public gatherings are allowed and only travel deemed essential is allowed. Businesses permitted to operate in Phase 1 include: essential businesses, existing construction projects, landscaping, automobile sales, curbside retail pickup, car washes and pet walkers.
Twenty-five counties have moved or are moving to Phase 2, which allows more outdoor recreation, gatherings of up to five people, limited non-essential travel and more businesses to open, though restrictions still remain.
To apply for a variance, counties must have an average of less than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. With 35 confirmed cases in the past 14 days and a population of more than 229,000, according to 2019 U.S. Census estimates, Whatcom County averaged 15.3 new cases per 100,000 people the past 14 days as of Friday.
The application process requires support from the local health officer, the local board of health, local hospitals, and the county commission/council.
Each county must demonstrate they have adequate local hospital bed capacity as well as adequate PPE supplies to keep health care workers safe. The application must include plans for:
▪ Making testing available and accessible to everyone in the county with symptoms.
▪ Staffing case investigations and contact tracing.
▪ Housing people in isolation or quarantine who can’t or don’t want to do so at home.
▪ Providing case management services to those in isolation and quarantine.
▪ Responding rapidly to outbreaks in congregate settings.
The variance requests are reviewed by the secretary of health, who can approve the plans as submitted, approve with modifications or deny the application. If circumstances change within the jurisdiction, the variance can be revoked.
This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
