Whatcom County sees 15 new coronavirus cases Thursday, state says
Fifteen more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 according to the Washington State Department of Health on Thursday, July 30. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has had 894 confirmed cases and 37 deaths during the pandemic, according to the state. The new numbers mean 4.1% 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 29.
The state also reported Thursday that Whatcom County has had 77 hospitalizations and has conducted 31,796 tests, with 2.8% returning positive results.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, reported on Thursday, shows Whatcom County 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 62.6.
▪ 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.
▪ 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 84.3% 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 1.2% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating 3 patients for the new coronavirus.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 17.15 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 669,701 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has over 4.48 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 151,794 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Thursday afternoon reported 55,803 cases (an increase of 818), 1,564 deaths (an increase of 9) and 5,568 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 92). Approximately 2.8% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death, while 5.7% of the 973,654 tests administered have come back positive for COVID-19.
Lummi reports 3 cases
The Lummi Tribal Health Center on Wednesday announced that three more community members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Facebook posts, bringing the community’s total number of coronavirus cases to 58.
The three new cases represent the 12th, 13th and 14th new cases within the Lummi community in 10 days. The Lummi Nation has reported 16 cases during the month of July after having none between May 18 and July 1.
Lummi Nation Chairman Lawrence Solomon said in a video statement posted to Facebook Sunday night that the community public health team has gotten on top of the most recent outbreak.
“Thanks to our public health team for their dedication and skill, with contact tracing and the quarantining at-risk individuals, the recent outbreak has been contained,” Solomon said. “I would also like to thank our community members for your perseverance throughout this pandemic and your commitment to wearing masks.
“If we continue to successfully navigate this crisis, we must all remain vigilant to practicing social distancing, to protecting our elders and vulnerable populations and to wearing a mask whenever in a public place.”
Solomon also announced during the statement that the Lummi Indian Business Council’s “Shelter in Place” order, which was set to expire Monday has been extended to Aug. 17.
“I want to stress that COVID-19 continues to be a threat to our Lummi community,” Solomon said. “To protect the safety of all our members, we must continue to shelter in place. So please continue to stay home as much as possible, and when you do decide to be in public, keep space between yourself and other people. You are all vital to the future of the Lummi Nation.”
B.C. berry packing outbreak
The coronavirus outbreak at the Fraser Valley Packers berry packing plant near Abbotsford, B.C., has now expanded to 59 cases, according to a story by the Abbotsford News.
Despite the outbreak, British Columbia health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a statement Wednesday that there are no health concerns for the berries packed at the Abbotsford facility or any other fruit products, the News reported. But the health officials still advised always washing fruits and vegetables before eating them.
The News previously reported Monday that 15 workers had tested positive for coronavirus.
Fraser Health is screening all employees at the Abbotsford facility, which is located near the U.S.-Canada border, and is working on case and contact management, the Abbotsford News reported. The plant also reportedly is operating at reduced capacity.
According to the Fraser Valley Packers website, the company lists an Everson location along Garrison Road that is involved in sourcing, producing and certifying blueberries; agricultural blueberry research; and packing, processing and distributing blueberries.
Phased reopening
Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday extended the pause indefinitely on counties moving ahead in the Safe Start Washington plan.
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 30, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
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