Four new Whatcom positive COVID-9 tests Thursday; YMCA also confirms day camp test
Four new positive tests for COVID-19 were reported in Whatcom County, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Thursday, July 9. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has had 689 confirmed cases and 40 deaths during the pandemic — meaning 5.8% 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 8.
The state also reported Thursday that Whatcom County has had 62 hospitalizations and has conducted 21,524 tests, with 3.2% 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 75.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a rate of 46.5.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 2.1%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 80.8% 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 0.4% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating one patient for coronavirus.
YMCA camp sees positive test
A person associated with the Whatcom YMCA sponsored Summer Day Camp at Cordata Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19, a YMCA spokesperson told The Bellingham Herald in an email Thursday.
Marketing and Communications Director Elana English said Whatcom YMCA learned of the positive test one week earlier on July 2. Citing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, requirements, English said Whatcom YMCA could not disclose how the person was associated with the camp.
“We immediately informed the potentially exposed families and staff members, contacted the Whatcom County Health Department for guidance, and closed the program for a thorough disinfecting and cleaning,” English wrote. “Those in close contact have been asked to quarantine by the health department until Wednesday, July 15.”
Through contact tracing, 26 individuals have been identified who were potentially exposed to the individual, Whatcom Unified Command spokesperson Amy Cloud told The Herald in an email, and were referred for testing by the Whatcom County Health Department. Of those, 18 tests came back negative, four tests are still pending and four others were not tested through the health department.
Those at risk of exposure include close contacts — anyone who was within six feet of the confirmed case for 15 minutes or longer, Cloud reported.
The individual has been excluded from the camp for at least 10 days since their test was submitted and until at least three days have passed since their symptoms resolve, Cloud reported. Close contact have been contacted by the health department and asked to remain in quarantine for 14 days and seek testing if symptoms develop.
The YMCA also has implemented extensive safety measures to reduce the chances coronavirus is spread in all of its childcare programs, English wrote, “as the safety of the children and staff is our utmost priority.”
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to our families in the program, but closely following the established protocols set forth by Whatcom County Public Health Department in the event of a possible exposure is in everyone’s best interest to ensure ongoing safety by reducing unnecessary exposure.”
U.S. and Washington state
More than 12.2 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 553,438 deaths as of Thursday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 3.1 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 133,195 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Thursday evening reported 38,581 cases (an increase of 640), 1,409 deaths (15 new deaths) and 4,665 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 35). Approximately 3.7% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death, while 5.8% of the 660,330 tests administered have come back positive for COVID-19.
Phased reopening
Whatcom County is not meeting COVID-19 case count benchmarks and has not applied to move into Phase 3 of Gov. Jay 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 until July 16 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.
Washington’s secretary of health said Wednesday if cases of coronavirus continue to increase, it was unlikely that a current statewide pause for counties looking to advance from their current stage of reopening will be lifted at the end of the initial two-week timeframe.
Five counties are now 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, barbers and gyms with some restrictions.
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 9, 2020 at 9:52 AM.
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