14 new positive COVID-19 tests in Whatcom County, state reports Thursday
Fourteen more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported on Thursday, July 2. No new deaths were reported for the county on Thursday.
Whatcom County now has had 649 confirmed cases and continues to have had 40 deaths during the pandemic — meaning 6.2% of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Whatcom have died — according to state Department of Health data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 1.
With Whatcom County still in Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan as we head into the July 4 holiday weekend, physically distanced gatherings of up to five people outside your household are allowed.
“Just because these gatherings are allowed doesn’t mean they are safe for you. Your home, away from people outside your immediate household, remains the safest place for you to be,” the Washington State Department of Health posts on its blog.
The state noted that when it comes to gatherings:
▪ “Outside is safer than inside.
▪ “Small groups are safer than large groups.
▪ “Less time together is safer than more time together.
▪ “Within six feet, face coverings are better than no face coverings.”
The state also reported Thursday that Whatcom County has had 58 hospitalizations and has conducted 19,218 tests, with 3.4% returning positive results.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard reported on Thursday shows Whatcom County was missing four of five Phase 2 metrics goals:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 71.5.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a rate of 21.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 4.8%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 88.6% reported by the state.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 10% of all licensed hospital beds being occupied by COVID-19 patients with 0.8% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating two patients for coronavirus.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 10.94 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 519,852 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 2,732,639 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 128,651 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Wednesday evening reported 34,151 cases (an increase of 716), 1,342 deaths (3 new deaths) and 4,442 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 40). Approximately 3.9% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death, while 5.8% of the 584,989 tests administered have come back positive for COVID-19.
Phased reopening
Whatcom County is not meeting COVID-19 case count benchmarks and did not apply last week to move into Phase 3 of Inslee’s reopening plan.
Whatcom County moved to Phase 2 on June 5, making Friday, June 26, the earliest date the county could have applied for Phase 3.
On Thursday, July 2, Inslee announced a two-week pause on counties advancing phases under the state’s Safe Start plan, and said businesses won’t be able to serve customers at their bar tops.
Three counties are in Phase 1, two counties are in a modified version of Phase 1, 17 counties — including Whatcom — are in Phase 2 and 17 counties are in 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.
This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 4:39 PM.
