Whatcom sees four new COVID cases, while Lighthouse Mission reports first positive test
Four more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom County, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Thrusday, Sept. 3. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County has now had 1,118 confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to state Department of Health data as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2. The data also shows Whatcom County has had 84 hospitalizations and completed 50,440 tests in total.
The state also reported Thursday that Whatcom County has had 39 related deaths, meaning 3.5% of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus have died.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was also reported Thursday and shows Whatcom County missing two of four Phase 2 metrics goals. A fifth, recently altered metric, did not have a goal as of Thursday.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target rate of fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents every 14 days with a rate of 30.6
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 194.8. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 178.7.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 0.9%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 80.4% 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 0.8% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Thursday that it was treating one patient for the new coronavirus.
U.S. and Washington state
More than 26.14 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 865,467 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States has more than 6.14 million confirmed cases — the most reported cases of any nation — and at least 186,693 related deaths.
Overall, the Washington State Department of Health Thursday afternoon reported 75,856 cases (an increase of 479) and 6,834 coronavirus-related hospitalizations (an increase of 39). The state has recorded 1,518,089 total tests.
The latest numbers of statewide deaths are from Thursday, with 1,945 deaths (an increase of 10), indicating 2.6% of people with confirmed cases have died.
Agape House reports positive
Lighthouse Mission Ministries reported that a staff member at Agape Home — the ministry’s shelter for women and children on Holly Street in Bellingham — tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, Aug. 31.
It is the first known COVID-19 case at the Mission, according to a Lighthouse Mission release, which added that the virus was detected quickly and the person is now in quarantine.
“Lighthouse Mission Ministries is following all recommended precautions to keep our guests and staff safe and healthy,” Lighthouse Mission Ministries Executive Director Hans Erchinger-Davis wrote in the release. “We have worked closely with Community Paramedics and the Whatcom County Health Department to develop our COVID-19 protocols, which include: encouraging social distancing and mask wearing among guests and staff, daily symptom checks for all staff members, and a thorough daily cleaning regime.”
Since the positive test, the Mission has remained in contact with local authorities about best practices, guidelines and minimizing exposure to others and everyone who was in contact with the staff member has been contacted by the health department, according to the release. All guests and staff at the Agape Home are being tested for coronavirus and are quarantining.
“We take seriously that one of our staff members has contracted COVID-19 from a loved one,” Erchinger-Davis wrote. “Our prayers are with them for a full recovery and we are taking all necessary steps to keep others healthy.”
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 September 3, 2020 at 12:33 PM.
