COVID-19 transmission still growing across Washington state; Whatcom numbers delayed
COVID-19 transmission continues to grow across Washington state, according to the newest statewide situation report released Friday, July 31.
Western Washington’s reproductive number for coronavirus transmission is estimated at 1.19, while eastern Washington is at 1.08, meaning each confirmed case is spreading to more than one person. A reproductive number of less than one would mean the disease is decreasing.
The state Department of Health did not release new COVID-19 case and death data Friday. Early Friday a news release said data would be delayed due to an outage in the state reporting systems.
The state Department of Health anticipates the impacts on the data to be resolved by early next week, according to the release.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating one patient for the new coronavirus.
In a news release about the statewide situation, Secretary of Health John Wiesman said “While we see daily case counts decreasing in some jurisdictions, we need to see these trends statewide.”
“Transmission reduction efforts are still insufficient to limit the continued growth of COVID-19. This is why fewer, shorter, and safer interactions are crucial. Staying home is still safest but if you go out, keep it quick, keep your distance from others, and wear a face covering,’ Wiesman said.
Case numbers in a number of counties continue to grow, and Okanogan County now has the most cases per capita in the state, according to the report.
Western Washington has seen 4.2% of tests for coronavirus return positive results, which is much lower than the 14.6% positivity rate in eastern Washington.
Death rates also have been on the rise across the state the past two weeks, according to the release.
More than 17.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 679,987 deaths as of Saturday morning, Aug. 1, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has over 4.56 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 154,320 related deaths.
Lummi Nation’s recent cases
A recent increase in the number of cases within the Lummi Nation community is being attributed in part to large gatherings and travel, according to a statement from the nation emailed to The Bellingham Herald.
The Lummi Tribal Health Center on Wednesday, July 29, announced three more community members 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, and the Lummi Nation has reported 16 cases during the month of July after having none between May 18 and July 1.
“We’ve recently reported a few new cases, but overall, our numbers are not any different than our surrounding communities,” the statement said. “To reduce our risk, it is important to restrict travel and follow the Phase 2 guidelines for gatherings.”
Lummi Nation Chairman Lawrence Solomon said in a video statement posted to Facebook Sunday night that the Lummi Indian Business Council’s “Shelter in Place” order has been extended to Aug. 17.
“Lummi leaders are proud of our tribal community and continue to remind them to follow all the policies and procedures put in place to protect all of us,” the statement read. “Although we track our cases separate from our surrounding communities, we are still very much an integrated part of Whatcom County.”
The statement also credited the Lummi Public Health Teams’ guidance during the pandemic and their work to continue testing, contact tracing, quarantining, setting policies and procedures, and communicating with and educating the public on COVID-19.
“If one part of Whatcom County gets COVID-19, that places our entire county at risk,” the statement read. “Therefore, it is really important that all of us wear masks, practice social distancing measures, travel only when necessary, and stay home when we feel symptoms. These small sacrifices will go a long way in protecting our entire community.”
Phased reopening
Gov. Jay Inslee Tuesday, July 28, 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.
The number of U.S. deaths was corrected Aug. 2, 2020.
This story was originally published August 1, 2020 at 6:58 AM.
