As Father’s Day nears, worry that gatherings could lead to Whatcom coronavirus spike
Public health officials worry that too many people might get together to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 21, and the Fourth of July, leading to a spike in new COVID-19 cases in Whatcom County.
That’s what Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department, said during a media briefing on Friday, June 19.
A bump in cases already is occurring because people have been gathering in larger numbers than they should under Phase 2 of the state’s “Safe Start” guidelines, which recommend getting together with no more than five people from outside of your household per week.
“We recognize that the trends are not moving in the right direction,” Lautenbach said.
Whatcom County has been in Phase 2 since June 5.
Phase 2 enables retail businesses 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.
On Monday, June 15, the health department said recent confirmed cases were linked to large, private social gatherings in late May, two of which had 50 or more people at them.
Such gatherings create instability in the county’s ability to move forward to Phase 3, Lautenbach said Friday.
“It has always been our goal to make sure that we move forward with allowing businesses to open and people to get back to work. And a very distant second goal is for people to have parties and socialize,” Lautenbach said.
“We’re concerned that these social events and parties are putting all of that economic recovery at risk,” she said.
None of the recent 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, according to Lautenbach.
Also on Friday, the health department released new data showing that the age of Whatcom County residents who have tested positive for the new coronavirus has flipped.
The data show that:
▪ In April, 73% of confirmed cases were people who were 30 years and older while 27% were 29 and younger.
▪ In May, 46% of cases were 30 years and older and 54% were 29 and younger.
▪ In June — up to June 17 — 26% were 30 years and older while 74% of cases were in those 29 years old and younger.
“We are seeing an increase in confirmed cases in younger populations, likely due to social gatherings, and an increase in the rate of cases in northern Whatcom County,” the Whatcom County Health Department said in a news release on Friday.
In some cases, people who contracted the virus at social gatherings then gave it to others when they went to work, health officials said.
Also on Friday, the health department released geographical data for confirmed cases in the past month, which it does via school districts. That data, in the form of a graph, showed that cases within the Lynden School District were up, while those in other school districts were decreasing or essentially holding steady.
“That’s where we’re seeing the most dramatic increases in reported cases,” Lautenbach said, attributing it to social events in the Lynden area.
