Rise in COVID-19 cases threatens early advance to Phase 3 for Whatcom County
A continued rise in COVID-19 cases, including those traced to the Lynden area, threatens Whatcom County from reaching benchmarks required for Phase 3 reopening of businesses when it becomes eligible to apply next week, the Health Department said in a press conference Friday, June 19.
Whatcom County advanced to Phase 2 two weeks ago under Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan to fight the new coronavirus pandemic, but it is not meeting goals required for Phase 3, Health Director Erika Lautenbach said.
Next week would have been the earliest that Whatcom County could apply for Phase 3.
“Even as we begin to build documentation for Phase 3, we realize that the trends are not moving in the right direction,” Lautenbach said.
“We are definitely trending upward in terms of new cases, and that will likely prevent us from moving forward as we had hoped,” she said.
Many of the recent COVID-19 infections have been linked to several large parties and social events over the Memorial Day weekend in the Lynden area, Lautenbach said.
People who attended those parties then went to their jobs and infected their co-workers, she said.
“We’re seeing a very significant increase in contacts and close contacts,’ Lautenbach said.
But none of the new cases have been linked to a May 29 vigil, a May 30 march or a June 6 rally to mourn Blacks, Native American and other people of color killed by police and white vigilantes, Lautenbach said.
That rally drew an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 people to Maritime Heritage Park, with most of them wearing protective face masks.
Lautenbach said contact tracing of people who test positive for COVID-19 includes questions about having recently attended large events or gatherings.
But Whatcom County is seeing fewer severe cases and deaths caused by COVID-19 and St. Joseph Hospital still has enough capacity to treat any rising in hospitalization, she said.
A quarantine facility in the former Motel 6 in Bellingham has enough space to meet current needs, she said.
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.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 1:12 PM.
