Five more test positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom County, state says Wednesday
Five more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 according to the Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday, July 22. No new deaths have been reported.
Whatcom County now has had 807 confirmed cases and 37 deaths during the pandemic, according to the state. The new numbers mean 4.6% of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Whatcom have died — according to state Department of Health data as of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, July 21.
The state also reported Wednesday that Whatcom County has had 69 hospitalizations and has conducted 28,150 tests, with 2.9% returning positive results.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, reported on Wednesday, shows Whatcom County making one of five Phase 2 metrics goals after making four of the five on Thursday, July 16:
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 47.0.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a rate of 44.7.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 2.2%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 85.9% 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 3.5% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday that it was treating nine patients for coronavirus. The most-ever COVID-19 patients at the Bellingham hospital was 11 on March 31.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 15 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 620,257 deaths as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has over 3.95 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 142,942 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Wednesday afternoon reported 49,247 cases (an increase of 672), 1,468 deaths (an increase of 3) and 5,211 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 50). Approximately 3.0% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death, while 5.8% of the 855,152 tests administered have come back positive for COVID-19.
Insurance and providers
The Whatcom County Health Department offered tips relating to COVID-19 testing, insurance and costs in a news release Wednesday, saying, “Navigating and understanding medical insurance can be challenging at any time, but even more so during a pandemic.”
The health department suggests:
▪ Getting insurance and a healthcare provider before you need testing.
▪ If you do not have insurance, see if you qualify for special enrollment in the Washington Health Benefits Exchange or Apple Health by visiting the exchange website or calling 855-923-4633.
▪ Unity Care NW (360-788-2669) and SeaMar Community Health Centers (855-289-4503) both have state-trained insurance navigators to help with the Healthplan Finder website.
▪ If you have insurance but don’t have a provider, work with your insurance company to find one. If you need care for COVID-19 or any other healthcare concern, you’ll need a provider.
Having insurance and a provider makes getting a COVID-19 test much easier, the health department said. If you need a test, contact your provider, who may conduct the test or give you a referral to a testing site.
Since March 5, insurance companies within the Washington state are required to wave copays, coinsurance and deductible for COVID-19 testing — this should including doctor’s visits and lab fees associated with the testing. If you are charged, you can file a complaint with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
If you are uninsured, tell your provider, as there is a federal program through the Health Resources Services Administration that will cover the costs.
If you are not able to get insured or to get a healthcare provider but still need a COVID-19 test, call the health department at 360-778-6100 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to be connected to testing.
Phased reopening
Gov. Jay Inslee said at a virtual press conference July 14 that the pause on reopening phases under the state’s Safe Start plan will continue until at least July 28.
On Monday, July 20, Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman announced that he is returning the Safe Start applications for seven counties due to Inslee’s reopening pause. The returned applications included applications to move to Phase 3 for Clark, Cowlitz, Jefferson, Kitsap, Klickitat, San Juan and Walla Walla counties, a Department of Health release stated.
“It remains critical that everyone continues to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Wiesman said in the release. “Wear a face covering in any public setting or place where you can’t keep at least 6 feet of distance from people who are not members of your immediate household. In addition, stay home as much as possible, limit the number of people that you interact with, wash your hands and cover your coughs and sneezes.”
Five counties remain in a modified version of Phase 1, 17 counties — including Whatcom — are in Phase 2 and 17 counties are in Phase 3.
Phase 2 allows restaurants and taverns to operate at half capacity with table occupancy limited to five, hair and nail salons and barber shops to resume business, and retail stores to reopen for in-store purchases at 30% capacity. It also allows additional outdoor recreation and gatherings with no more than five people outside of a person’s household.
Phase 3 allows gyms and movie theaters to operate at half capacity and restaurants to increase capacity to 75%. A prohibition on bar seating at restaurants and taverns was added in this phase earlier in July.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
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