Whatcom County has nine new COVID-19 cases as total reaches 1,000, state says Wednesday
Nine more Whatcom residents have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
Whatcom County now has had 1,000 confirmed cases and 39 deaths during the pandemic, according to the state. The new numbers mean 3.9% 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, Aug. 11.
The state also reported Wednesday that Whatcom County has had 81 hospitalizations. The state did not release the number of total tests or the percent positive of those tests because the state is changing the way they count tests, according to a Wednesday news release. Whereas the previous method reflected the total number of unique individuals who have been tested, the new method will count every test completed, the release read.
“This new approach will give us the most complete and current picture of the actual amount of COVID-19 testing happening in our state,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman in the release. “This also becomes important when comparing Washington state to other states.”
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard, reported on Wednesday for data ending 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, shows Whatcom County missing three 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 58.1.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a preliminary number of 35.4.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a preliminary rate of 2.8%.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 79.6% 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% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday that it was not treating any patients for the new coronavirus for the fourth day in a row.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 20.4 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 745,780 deaths as of Wednesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has over 5.19 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 165,909 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Wednesday evening reported 64,702 cases (an increase of 551), 1,724 deaths (an increase of 8) and 6,137 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 35). Approximately 2.7% of all confirmed cases in the state have resulted in death. The state did not release the number of total tests or the percent positive of those tests.
Volunteers needed
Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency that’s directing local pandemic response, is requesting more volunteers to help respond to COVID-19, according to a Wednesday news release.
The organization has relied on volunteers the past five months to register people for COVID-19 tests, support food banks, develop mobile testing options and more. Many employers loaned their professionals to the cause at the start of the pandemic. However, as the county entered Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan, many professionals returned to their work, creating a need for more volunteers, according to the release.
Volunteers are considered emergency workers and must receive a background check, training and personal protection equipment as needed, the release read. Ideally, volunteers should be able to commit several hours a week for several weeks or months, according to the release.
“COVID-19 has impacted all of Whatcom County, and a community-wide effort is required to minimize and mitigate those impacts,” said Incident Commander for Whatcom Unified Command Scott McCreery in the release. “WUC volunteers act as force multipliers, increasing the capability and effectiveness of our public health and social service partner agencies, such as the Whatcom County Health Department, community food banks and others.”
People interested in volunteering can visit WhatcomCOVID.com or the Whatcom Unified Command COVID-19 Facebook page.
Phased reopening
Gov. Inslee 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 people. However, there can be no indoor seating at bars and taverns. Additionally, hair and nail salons and barber shops are allowed to resume business with some restrictions, and retail stores can 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. However, facilities such as pools and arcades are still not allowed. Movie theaters, libraries, museums, nightclubs, live entertainment and any kind of large gathering are also not allowed.
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 August 12, 2020 at 6:30 PM.
.jpeg)