Whatcom County sees 10 more COVID-19 cases, as restaurant reports positive test
Ten more Whatcom County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington State Department of Health reported on Friday, Sept. 25. No new deaths were reported.
Whatcom County now has had 1,318 confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to state Department of Health data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24. The data also shows Whatcom County has had 965 hospitalizations (an increase of one) and 60,450 tests have been performed (an increase of 486 from Thursday).
With 42 deaths, 3.2% of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Whatcom County have died. The county’s last COVID-related deaths were reported Tuesday, Sept. 22, with two reported that day.
The state’s Risk Assessment Dashboard reported Friday evening, for data as of 11:59 p.m. Thursday, that Whatcom County is missing three 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 46.6.
▪ Whatcom had an average COVID-19 testing rate per 100,000 people over a week of 197.1. No goal was stated for this metric, however, the overall statewide number was 167.2.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of 2% or less of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 during the past week with a rate of 2.2%.
▪ Whatcom is missing the target of less than 80% of all licensed hospital beds occupied by non-COVID-19 patients with 87.8% 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 1.2% reported by the state.
St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham reported to The Bellingham Herald on Friday that it was treating three patients.
Restaurant reports positive
Iconic Bellingham Tex-Mex restaurant Case Que Pasa announced via an Instagram post Thursday that one of its employees has tested positive for COVID-19.
“Therefore, we are temporarily closed while our other employees are tested,” the post read.
The restaurant said it would reopen as soon as it could and thanked customers for their support.
Comments on a similar Facebook post by the restaurant thanked the establishment for its transparency.
Numbers elsewhere
COVID-19 cases and deaths according to Johns Hopkins University Friday evening:
▪ The U.S. has more than 7 million reported cases, the most of any nations, and 203,615 deaths.
▪ Worldwide, there are more than 32.4 million reported cases and 987,036 deaths.
In Washington state, the most recent numbers from the Department of Health were reported Friday evening:
▪ 85,226 reported cases, an increase of 988 from data on Thursday.
▪ 7,412 coronavirus-related hospitalizations, an increase of 55 from data Thursday.
▪ 1,801,021 total tests, an increase of 17,742 from data Thursday.
▪ 2,100 deaths, an increase of 20 from data reported on Thursday, indicating 2.5% of people with confirmed cases have died.
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 25, 2020 at 6:31 PM.
