Five people test positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom County, state reports Monday
Five new Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, but no new deaths were reported on Monday, June 15, by the Washington Health Department.
The county now has 453 confirmed cases and 38 deaths during the pandemic — meaning 8.4% of people diagnosed with the respiratory illness in Whatcom have died — according to state department of health data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 14.
The state also reports the county has had 53 hospitalizations and has conducted 14,177 tests, with 3.2% returning positive results.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard is from Sunday, June 14, and shows all five metrics meeting Phase 2 goals:
▪ Whatcom is making the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 20.9.
▪ Whatcom is making the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a rate of 55.7.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 2% of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.8%.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds being occupied with a rate of 71.4%.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 10% of all licensed hospital beds being occupied by COVID-19 patients with a rate of zero.
St. Joseph hospital reported to The Bellingham Herald Monday that it has no patients who have tested positive and no patients who are suspected to have COVID-19.
Service reduction continued
Whatcom County bus service will continue on a reduced schedule through Sept. 20, 2020, the Whatcom Transportation Authority said Monday.
That means WTA will continue to offer a Saturday-level of service Monday through Friday, and a Sunday level of service on Saturdays and Sundays.
Transit agency spokeswoman Maureen McCarthy said extending the reduced service makes it possible to add service on busier routes and to allow for increased social distancing amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
“This current level of service is what the agency can sustain throughout the summer based on the availability of bus drivers, and on the availability of staff and supplies needed to keep buses and facilities clean and safe.” McCarthy said.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 7.9 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 434,849 deaths as of Monday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has 2,119,182 confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 116,081 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Monday afternoon reported 26,158 cases (an increase of 324), 1,221 deaths (an increase of 4) and 3,894 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 381). Approximately 4.7% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death, while 5.6% of the 471,265 tests administered have come back positive for COVID-19.
Phased reopening
Whatcom County was approved Friday, June 5, to move to Phase 2 under new benchmarks announced May 29, by Gov. Jay Inslee. Whatcom is now one of 23 counties in Phase 2 — six remain in Phase 1 and 10 have advanced to Phase 3.
Whatcom will need to wait until at least June 26 before it can apply to move to Phase 3.
Phase 2 enables retail firms to resume in-store purchases, restaurants to reopen with 50% capacity and table sizes no larger than 5, and the re-start of new construction, real estate, hair and nail salons, and barbers.
Phase 3 allows restaurants/taverns to reopen at 75% capacity with table sizes no larger than 10, as well as bar areas in restaurants/taverns at 25% capacity, movie theaters at 50% capacity, and libraries and museums.
Robert Mittendorf contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 3:55 PM.
