Whatcom County sees 11 new COVID-19 cases Friday
Eleven more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Whatcom County, according to the Washington State Department of Health on Friday, Sept. 11. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has had 1,178 confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to state Department of Health data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. The data also shows Whatcom County has had 91 hospitalizations and completed 53,705 tests in total.
The state also reported Friday that Whatcom County has had 39 total related deaths, meaning 3.3% of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus have died.
The most recent data from the state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard was also reported Friday and shows Whatcom County missing one of four 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 36.4.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 209.6. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 173.5.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 1.5%.
▪ Whatcom is making the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 63.9% 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 2.7% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating seven patients for the third day in a row.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday afternoon:
▪ The U.S. has more than 6.43 million reported cases, the most of any nations, and 192,663 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 28.29 million reported cases and 911,770 deaths.
In Washington state, the Department of Health reported Friday afternoon:
▪ 79,011 reported cases, an increase of 544 from Thursday.
▪ 7,018 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 25 from Thursday.
▪ 1,614,748 tests recorded, an increase of 16,761 from Thursday.
▪ 1,991 deaths, an increase of 6 from Thursday, indicating 2.5% of people with confirmed cases have died.
Nooksack report first case
The Nooksack Indian Tribe reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus on Thursday, Sept. 10.
The person who tested positive is a non-tribal employee who lives outside of the community, the tribe said in a Facebook post.
The Nooksack Health Clinic had conducted 838 tests as of Thursday’s release, with results from 30 still pending.
As of Thursday, the Lummi Tribal Health Center reported that it has tested 1,573 people during the pandemic. Fifty-nine tests have come back positive, but all 59 people have since recovered.
State situation report
COVID-19 activity appears to be declining across the state as more people take precautions such as face coverings and physical distancing, according to a Friday situation report from the Washington State Department of Health.
Western Washington reportedly had an estimated reproductive rate, which measures how many people each person with COVID-19 will infect, of 0.86 on Aug. 28 while eastern Washington had a rate of about 1.22, according to a Friday news release. A rate below one indicates disease transmission is declining across western Washington while a rate above one suggests disease transmission is increasing.
Overall, the state is seeing decreases in case counts in both the east and west across all age groups, the release read. However, the release added patterns of decline vary from county to county and there are notable exceptions. Whitman County, for example, is seeing a sharp spike in cases since Aug. 19, according to the release. These cases have been linked to activity among young people that has spread to older populations, the release read.
The state attributes the overall decline in case counts to people interacting more cautiously and following health guidelines. The report found people are more mobile than at the start of the pandemic but they are taking more precautions like wearing face coverings and limiting group sizes.
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.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
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