Whatcom County sees six more COVID-19 cases Thursday, state reports
Six more people have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Thursday, Aug. 20. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has had 1,036 confirmed cases and 39 deaths during the pandemic, according to the state. The new numbers mean 3.8% 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, Aug. 19.
The total number of Whatcom County COVID-19 cases decreased by two for the first time, Wednesday, but the state website has noted in the past that adjustments can be expected routinely at the data is reviewed. Most likely the data changed because updated information showed the cases were out of state or belonged to a different county, a Department of Health spokesperson said.
The state also reported Thursday 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 it count tests, according to an Aug. 12 news release. While the previous method reflected the total number of unique individuals who have been tested, the new method due the week of Aug. 24 will count every test completed, the release read.
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 44.4
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of more than 50 individuals tested for each new confirmed case the past week with a number of 32.6.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 3.1%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 89.4% 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 Thursday that it was not treating any patients for the new coronavirus.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 22.53 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 790,475 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has over 5.56 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 174,104 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Thursday afternoon reported 69,389 cases (an increase of 700), 1,837 deaths (an increase of 15) and 6,400 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 12). Approximately 2.6% 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.
Skagit testing restricted
COVID-19 drive-thru testing in Skagit County will be restricted to people who work and live in that county, starting Monday, Aug. 31.
“This was an extremely difficult decision for us to make,” Public Health Director Jennifer Johnson said in a news release on Thursday.
“We want to be good neighbors, but we’re in a place where our current testing level isn’t sustainable. In order to protect this vital service for Skagit County residents, we have to ask that those who do not live or work here seek testing elsewhere,” Johnson said.
About half of the people who have used Skagit’s drive-thru testing site in Mount Vernon over the last three months have lived in another county, according to the news release.
That includes Whatcom County residents who have traveled there to get tested because they didn’t first have to get a doctor’s appointment.
The testing site costs about $60,000 a week to operate, Skagit officials said, adding that the county doesn’t get money from neighboring jurisdictions to operate it.
Whatcom County is now offering mobile testing by appointment only through TestDirectly or by calling 360-778-6075 between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. More information on testing is available on the health department’s website.
Anyone can get tested through the program, including people without insurance or a physician referral and there is no cost to be tested, according to a Whatcom County news release in an earlier Bellingham Herald story.
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.
Kie Relyea contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 4:56 PM.
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