Whatcom Health Department details large parties responsible for COVID-19 outbreaks
The Whatcom County Health Department released more details Monday evening, June 15, about the series of outbreaks of COVID-19 related to “large private and recreational social gatherings held in Whatcom County in late May” it announced Friday evening, June 12.
The county said it is not releasing information about the locations of the gatherings because the specific events do not represent a greater public health risk than other gatherings that are likely happening throughout the community.
An outbreak is two or more cases of COVID-19 among individuals who were exposed to the virus from the same source, such as at a workplace or informal gathering.
“Case contact investigators have been told of three events that took place in late May, two of which had 50 or more individuals in attendance,” according to Claudia Murphy, public information officer for Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing the local pandemic response.
Since then, the county health department has learned of other private social events connected to additional cases, she wrote in an email in response to Friday night questions from The Bellingham Herald.
“We are still learning more about the extent of the secondary spread from those index cases to their close contacts. Case contact investigations are ongoing and test results are still pending, so we do not yet have a total count of the number of individuals impacted by these events,” she wrote.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard that private gatherings are happening throughout the county, and large gatherings pose a risk of transmission,” she wrote.
The county said it will continue to work on releasing the age distribution of the individuals impacted in these outbreaks.
With five new Whatcom County residents testing positive for COVID-19, according to state department of health data as of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 14, the county now has 453 confirmed cases and 38 deaths during the pandemic.
Whatcom Health said Friday that it notified the state Department of Health of the outbreaks, as required. The county health department said it is not yet known if the outbreaks will hurt the county’s ability to remain in Phase 2.
“These events emphasize the increased risk of infection presented by large gatherings, regardless of location,” the health department news release said Friday. “Some individuals with COVID-19 will not have symptoms, not know they are infected, and thus can transmit the virus to others without knowing.”
People who attended large gatherings where they are unable to maintain social distancing of 6 feet around people without masks should monitor themselves for symptoms for 14 days, the county release said last week.
Washington state officials, at a press conference on Monday, urged people to wear masks or face coverings when they’re in public, expressing concern that counties might not be able to move forward – and could fall backwards – under Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase plan to reopen the rest of the state’s economy.
The state controlled the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing, the stay-at-home order, handwashing, masks and face coverings, said Dr. Scott Lindquist, state epidemiologist for communicable diseases in the state Department of Health.
But as more businesses and activities reopen, that progress is in jeopardy, he said at a press briefing.
“You want a haircut? Wear a mask. You are not going to enjoy these freedoms in our phases until we can demonstrate that we can control this. I hope we do not go backwards, but that is a concern,” Lindquist said.
